-----
by Xyliana
Summary: -
1. Homecoming

A/N: I can't take full credit for this. So thanks to Lily for starting this RP with me, regardless of me ditching RP ideas and being absent from the internet for, like, the past, idk, 2 years? Ha. Love you Lily! Sorry I'm pathetic!

Full Summary: A total re-write of the series, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark have won the Hunger Games, making history! But as Katniss returns home, after telling Peeta their love story was a lie, she finds both the two men in her life are facing their own dilemmas. To top it off, uprisings in the districts, rumors of a rebellion, and the Quarter Quell will be in less than a year. Can Katniss set aside her problems to focus on how much Panem actually needs her? And if she does, what can one girl possibly do to start the revolution of the Panem Government?

* * *

><p>Chapter 1. Homecoming<p>

Katniss Everdeen watched nervously from her window as the train from the Capitol came to a stop in District 12. She continued to avoid Peeta's gaze as she had the majority of the ride for fear of the disapproval in his eyes. She slowly got to her feet when she felt the train stop and headed wordlessly to the door.

Despite the waves of mixed and negative emotions streaming through him, Peeta somehow managed to force a convincing smile before standing. He knew full well the cameras are already filming outside to boardcast his and Katniss's arrival home and has to keep up the act that he is happy, even when he is far from it. Regardless, he pushed on until he was standing right beside Katniss. Without hesitation or thinking to even ask her permission, Peeta reached down and grabbed ahold of her hand. It was time to put on another show for the audience, although this one he knew he would have to force out more then ever before.

Katniss glanced at their hands and then up at Peeta's face for the briefest of seconds before looking forward and squeezing his hand once in acknowledgement. She put on one of the biggest smiles she could muster and, forcing a bounce into her step, pushed out onto the street with Peeta, waiting to greet her family happily and Gale, less so.

The instant the doors were pushed open and the two Victors stepped out, a roar of applause and cheering quickly follows as a crowd as large as those at the Reapings stands at a safe distance from the train. In the front lines, of course, are an entire camera team and news reporters filming the audience and the two of theirs' reactions.

Without missing a beat, Peeta's grin widened as he began to wave to everybody. He tugged on Katniss's hand and began to run towards the group to greet everybody happily, pulling her behind him but not roughly. His main goal was to broadcast to the world that the two of them are still together, want to be forever, and want to be surrounded in family. And he's thus far doing a damn good job of it. Katniss burst out into the girly giggles that were showcased during the interviews before the Hunger Games and skipped quickly after the running Peeta, waving to the camera crews. She forced the sadness and weariness from her body and pretended to be completely in love with Peeta, even while searching the crowd imperceptibly for a certain dark haired hunter boy.

Both Katniss and Peeta's gazes into the crowd were quickly blocked as one of the head cameramen stepped in front of the two. On cue, the female reporter, who was obviously from the Capitol due to the yellow tint of her flesh and metallic silver lipstick she wore, stepped into the shot as well, shoving a microphone in front of Katniss's face. "Katniss Everdeen, how does it feel now that Panem's favorite love duo are finally back home? You sure made history back in your games, how about a few words on that?"

Peeta simply stopped next to Katniss once hearing the barrage of questions. He did all he could to surpress a sigh and keep smiling, but this time he was staying silent to let Katniss be the one to speak.

Katniss smiled at the reporter and leaned her head gently on Peeta's shoulder, feeling drained and just wanting to run home to Prim and her mother. She squeezed Peeta's hand and smiled lovingly at him, even though her heart was breaking even further. "I think we're just happy to be home and to continue our lives and relationship surrounded by family and love. I certainly never went into the Games wanting to make history and I know Peeta feels the same, but I'm just happy we're both still here and alive, but thank you just the same."

The reporter smiled and opened her mouth again to ask another question but a different voice called out before she could start. "KATNISS! KATNISS!" All the cameras immediately turned as a small flash of blonde pushed itself through the crowd and ran towards her. Prim dove forward passed the reporter with her left arm extended towards Katniss, a confused and hissing cat craddled in her right.

"PRIM!" Katniss immediately let go of Peeta's hand as soon as she heard Prim's little voice. She dove toward Prim and pulled her through some of the remaining people that were between them, holding her tightly against her chest and ignoring Buttercup. Prim clung onto Katniss as tightly as her arm would let her, a few stray tears falling with joy. She just continued to hold her sister, like she would blow away if she let her go, but did eventually manage to loosen her grip a little to smile up at Katniss. At this point, all cameras were all trained on the two and even the news reporter remained silent to let the scene take place.

"You really came home... You really kept your promise!"

Katniss smiled down at her little sister and tucked some of Prim's hair behind her ear, as if unsure of what to do with her hands. Her eyes were wet with tears but she held them back in front of the cameras and planted a kiss on Prim's forehead, a genuine smile on her face now. "Of course I did, little duck. I would never lie to you, you know that."

After this the cameramen must have figured they had enough footage of the reunion, or the news reporter had gotten bored with not being in the spotlight, and was back to interviewing Peeta. Peeta just answered all he was questioned with in his usual, television-friendly dementor. Katniss smiled, relieved that the cameras were gone and wrapped her arms tightly around her sister, pressing her face against her blond hair. Prim simply giggled at this before pushing her head back against Katniss's chest and hugging her tightly. At some point during the scene, Buttercup had escaped Prim's grip so the little girl was free to hug her sister with both arms. "We were all so worried and missed you so much! Mom, Buttercup, Lady, Gale, everybody!" she began, more tears streaming down her cheeks.

She pulled back slightly and looked down at her, letting one or two tears escape now that the attention was on Peeta. "Where is G-... where is everyone? I couldn't see through all the lights and the people... I'm sure Peeta is better with the camera people anyway. I'm glad you got to me first though, duck." She punctuated this with another tight, suffocating hug.

Prim returned the hug quickly, but her voice dropped half an octave. "Mom's in the crowd, waiting for us. I brought Buttercup but I think he got mad he was getting crushed in the hug..."

"You know Buttercup didn't want to be near me anyway." Katniss stood up a little taller to look in the crowd. "And... and Gale?"

At this point, Prim finally let go of Katniss so she could stand up right to look around. In the crowd, many of the usual faces were there - their mother could be seen in the back of the crowd, Greasey Sae, Darius, even Gale's mother Hazelle and his younger siblings are among the crowd but no Gale to be found. Prim just remained silent, trying to think of something to tell her but the more she stalled, the more suspecious she knew Katniss would grow of her.

Katniss craned her neck to view the entire crowd, her excited smile slowly slipping off her face into nothingness. She fell off her toes onto her feet and looked at Prim, eyes confused and brows furrowed. She opened her mouth for a moment before shutting it and taking Prim's hand, forcing the hurt and pain back down. "Come on, Prim. Let's sneak away and go see Mom, okay?"

"Don't be mad at him," she mumbled as she squeezed Katniss' hand a little. "I'm sure he wanted to come, Katniss..."

Katniss forced down the reply of "no, I'm sure he didn't" and just forced an even bigger smile. She didn't reply to Prim at all, tightening her grip on her hand, and dashing quickly into the crowd toward their mother.

"Katniss..." Prim began to call up to her, but her tiny voice was soon overpowered by the mountains of praise the citizens of District 12 were shouting towards her as the two walked towards their mother. A few pats on the back here and ruffles of the hair later, their mother walked over to the two. She seemed to have lost quite a few pounds since Katniss last saw her, but she looked overall well and even smiled a little.

"Katniss..."

Katniss plastered on her smile at all the citizens and then at her mother. She hugged her, although not with as much enthusiasm as she did with Prim. "Mom. I missed you guys."

Her mother returned the hug. "We all missed you too... Thank you for coming back to us, Katniss..." her voice was almost shaky as she spoke, like she was still afraid there was a chance Katniss wasn't coming back and she would be more alone.

"I'll always come back, Mom. You don't have to worry about that." Even as she tried to soothe her mother, Katniss's eyes flitted around the crowd for familar dark hair. She finally looked back at her mother and smiled reassuringly. Katniss' mother pulled back from the hug and gave her a smile back which, while small, showed genuine happiness in her eyes.

From behind her, Hazelle walked up with her youngest three - Rory, Vick, and Posy. "Katniss, congradulations!" Gale's mother cried as she hugged the girl, planting a small and happy kiss on her cheek as she did. "You did so well!"

Katniss smiled and hugged her back before ruffling Rory, Vick, and Posy's hair. "Thanks, Hazelle. I guess I tried my hardest and that's all I can say. How have... all of you been?" She smiled in what she hoped what an enthusiastic way, but it just came off rather confused and upset at this point.  
>Hazelle, not being a very suspecious woman, smiled right back at her. "We've been managing. You don't need to worry about us, though. Gale's been taking care of everything while you were gone."<p>

Katniss's eyes snapped to Hazelle at his name, but she smiled all the same. She focused really hard to sound nonchalant. "Gale? What's he been up to? And where is he?"

"Oh... you know," she shrugged, trying to avoid the question. "He's been up to his usual..."

"He should be out of work soon to see you do, Katniss!" the middle child, Vick, spat out excited, which instantly gained him a stern look from his mother. Realizing he messed up, the child immediately put his hands over his mouth and widened his eyes.

Katniss, finally fed up of the charade, crossed her arms. "If he's angry at me, you can tell me. Everyone's been dancing around the issue. Just tell me! I just survived the damn Hunger Games! I think I can handle the truth."

Everyone remained silent, both a little shocked at the outburst and a little at a loss for words. Finally, Prim squeezed Katniss's hand again slightly before looking up at her. "Gale had to work... he got a job at the coal mines..."

Katniss chewed on her lip angrily and just looked away from Prim and everyone else, slightly embarrassed but refusing to show it. "Yeah."

"We didn't want to tell you because of dad..." she mumbled a little, almost guilty like.  
>Katniss nodded, pushing her dark hair as well as the worry off her face. "I understand. I'm sorry. I just... I just expected him to be here."<p>

"Like Vick said, I'm certain he'll be at the party tonight!" Hazelle smiled, trying her hardest to cheer Katniss up. "Come on now, you're a victor! Let's start off towards the feast."

She smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Hazelle. Let's go." She wound her arm around Prim's shoulder and started off toward the feast, her mind reeling. The last thing she wanted right now was to be around anyone; she just wanted to go and yell at Gale Hawthorne for working in the coal mine when he promised he wouldn't and then punch him for missing her homecoming.


	2. Celebration

Chapter 2. Celebration

Katniss was sitting at the feast, drinking from a small glass and smiling at anyone who came up to talk to her. Feeling emotionally drained, she did not seek out anyone to talk to and, instead, let Peeta do all the charming.

Which Peeta did, flawlessly as ever. Sitting next to her, hand in hand, sharing tales of the games like it was the latest local gossip of the town and nothing more. Even though he knew deep down it was much more.  
>After perhaps another hour or so, citizens were coming and going, some just popping in for a brief moment to congratulate the two, some even dropping gifts. But one group in particular made a bit of a dark appearance. A group of men, most wearing overalls tucked in at their work boots began to pour in. The coal miners, getting off their late shift. Bar mandatory televised showings, their work took priority over all else, resulting in them being among the last to show to the party.<br>Katniss kept smiling lovingly at Peeta while he spoke, pretending all of this didn't disgust her. She slowly looked away and saw Haymitch laying on the ground, possibly unconscious, while Madge stood over him, looking concerned. She furrowed her eyebrows and glanced up, making eye contact with one of the coal miners. She swallowed hard and she stared into the group.

As more poured in and took their seats, among one of the last to walk in was Gale, his white shirt stained with coal spots and hair a mess. For the most part he tried to keep eye contact within his group of co-workers, but he knew he would eventually have to face it. Slowly, he turned up and looked towards Katniss. At first, his gaze was directly at her and her alone, but quickly he focused in elsewhere. Still on Katniss, but to her hand. The one clasped with Peeta's.  
>Katniss quickly moved her hand, pretending to brush her hair behind her ear. She sat there a moment, conflicted, before muttering "excuse me" to Peeta and everyone who was regaled by his story, certain they weren't even paying attention to her. She stood up and crossed her arms, eying Gale.<br>Gale's gaze broke from the hands and directly to Katniss, but he refused to move. Like a rock, he was determined to stand his ground against her on this. If she could go and make such a show over this sudden romance without guilt, why should he feel guilty about doing what he could for his family? He knew she would be pissed, he anticipated it. But the more he thought about it, the more defensive he felt himself getting over the entire ordeal. She should understand better, or so he continues to tell himself as he watches her.

"Gale," she said simply.

"Hey Catnip."

Katniss pressed her lips together before casting her gaze down. Standing in front of his, some of the anger seemed to suddenly vanish. Or perhaps she just didn't want to start a scene. "I... I missed you."

Gale's smirk faded in almost an instant before he let out a small sigh. This wasn't the bitching and fight he was expecting. Considering how dirty he looked and how absolutely clean and stunning her Capitol stylists had made her, Gale withheld himself from a hug and put his clean hand on her shoulder. He was never great with words - nothing with them when compared to Peeta - but he seemed to possess the ability to communicate more through body language. Relinquishing all petty emotions he had, at least for the time being, he looked down at her, directly into her eyes. "….I'm glad your safe."

Her face broke into a smile and one tear fell before she launched herself into his arms, pressing her face against his neck, clearly not caring about the dirt like he did. She let out a soft laugh/sob against his shoulder and punched him softly against his ribs. "I hope you know I'm beating you up later. There are too many witnesses here, though."

"I had figured as much," he replied simply before hugging her back. For a brief second, he caught Peeta's eyes staring at him. No, more like stabbing at him like daggers. It amuses him slightly before he turns back down towards Katniss. "I don't think your boyfriend would approve of this." That came out slightly more cold then he intended.

Katniss looked confused for a moment at the word "boyfriend" before understanding and sighing, rolling her eyes and glancing back at Peeta for a second before looking at Gale, lowering her voice. "Do you want to go for a quick walk? I need to talk to you. But not here."

"Can you leave your own party?" he asked, eyebrow raised. "If you can and want to, then sure."

"It's Peeta's party, not mine. I've already done my mingling and it was terrible. Let's go." She tugged on the front of his shirt with her fingers and began walking away.

Gale nods to her and begins to follow after. Still feeling the stabs at his back, he turns and makes eye contact again, briefly, with Peeta. He simply nods to Peeta with a small smug grin before following after Katniss. The romance between the two over the last few weeks has killed him little by little, but he has to admit it was almost fun seeing Peeta stare so intensely at him while he was with Katniss.

Katniss refused to look back at Peeta, knowing the look on his face would break her heart, and walked out towards the fence. She had almost reached it when she stopped and turned to look at Gale, the smile from earlier gone. Instead, the look on her face was replaced with one of anger. "Why?"

He stopped abruptly and looked back down at her. Again, he sighs. "Because I had to."

"Why now? Why couldn't you continue hunting? Both of our families were okay when I left. We were getting along fine. You said… you told me you would never work down there."

"Things were okay when you left because you were leaving, Katniss. Without the extra money, and now that I'm too old to take out tesserae, we might not have all been here when you came back."

Katniss furrowed her brow and tugged on the end of her braid anxiously. "I… well now that I'm back… you can take some of the money and the food the Capitol will give me."

This caused Gale to wince a little at the suggestion. "I don't want anything from them."

"I know, Gale, but I feel wrong keeping it. You'd be doing it for me. Please. I can't..." She lowered her voice and crossed her arms, looking down. "I can't lose you down there."

"Katniss, I can't..." he started before turning his gaze away from her, off in the distance to focus on some trees or something of the sort.

She looked at him, tugging on his shirt to have him look at her again. "Please? I'm not even angry with you, just, you know, extremely upset and... Well. We split everything half and half, remember?"

"This isn't the same!" he finally snapped, looking right down at her. "I'm not going to take the Capitol's handouts!"

She winced and let go of his shirt. "It is the same! I love Hazelle and Rory and Posy and Vick and YOU, Gale! I want you to be safe! I just want to do something good with the damn food! I just want to help you and I just want you to be safe!"

"Well you sure showed the entire country how much you loved me when you were practically all over Peeta!" Gale spat out before fully realizing what he had said. Not until it was too late.

Katniss opened her mouth and furrowed her eyebrows, staring at him for a moment. She shut her mouth slowly and blinked. "Peeta? Are you upset over Peeta?"

Gale's mind suddenly went blank. Never good with words and he had just messed up because of it. Still worked up and trying not to show weakness, he merely turned away from her and began to walk. "I need to clean up. Go back to your party, Katniss."

"Gale! Gale, don't walk away." She ran after him and grabbed his sleeve. "Gale, please. I don't know what you're upset about, but me and Peeta... we're nothing. It was strategy. He... he has feelings for me, but I told them I don't return them. He's a nice guy, but I don't... I don't love him."

Gale stopped again and looked back over at her. "...what?"

She stopped and looked at him, letting go of his sleeve. "It was... Haymitch thought it was a good idea. Peeta has feelings for me and people were... responding to the star-crossed lovers routine. He's a nice guy, a good friend, but that's all... I told him so. He's not my... _boyfriend_ or whatever."

"So this whole time, everything was an act on television? You felt nothing for him, not even a once?"

"Maybe once. In fact, yes. I had feelings for him exactly once. But only once. He's a nice guy, eloquent. It would be easy to have feelings for him. But I told him I was pretending on the train. He told me he wasn't and it was awkward."

Gale's facial expression didn't show much happiness behind it, regardless of the news she was sharing with him. "So you lied to him?" he asked, suddenly feeling guilty about how he acted as the two left the party minutes ago.

She blinked before getting extremely defensive. She crossed her arms and stared at him. "Not technically. I couldn't exactly tell him that I didn't have feelings for him with cameras all around. I told him as soon as I could."

He shook his head before turning away again. "That isn't like you, Katniss. All the more reason I can't accept your offer about the Capitol's food."

She stared at him for a moment longer before narrowing her eyes and setting her jaw. "Fine, Gale. See you around." She spun around and headed back for the party.

Back at the party, many of the guests had left, leaving only a handful including both Peeta's and Katniss' family. With no one to talk to, Peeta had now resorted to trying to aid a nearly unconscious Haymitch into a chair where he had planned on trying to coax water into him. Thus far, he was highly unsuccessful. Haymitch knocked the cup out of Peeta's hand and curled up in his chair.

Katniss walked back into the party, eyes red rimmed and face angry. She headed over to Prim and her mother. "Can we leave? Please."

Prim looked up from the table and at Katniss. She nodded as her and her mother stood up. "Okay. Let me go say goodbye to Peeta real fast then." Before Katniss could even reply, she was off in another flash of blonde towards Peeta, who now accepted the futility in his attempts at sobering up Haymitch. .

Katniss rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed, looking at the floor instead of at Peeta and Prim. Haymitch slowly slid off his chair and to the floor, going fetal.

"Haymitch, come on now..." Peeta sighed, trying to slump him back into a chair.

"Do you need some help?" Prim blinked, though slightly amused by the entire ordeal.

"No, I think I can..." Peeta mumbled as he tried to half throw Haymitch into the chair and half push it in at the same time to try and trap him upwards. He was mostly concerned if Haymitch was laying down and threw up.

Haymitch only mumbled half-coherently and Katniss sighed loudly and walked over to them. "Peeta, put one of his arms over your shoulders and I'll take the other side. We have to get him home. We can't leave him here."

Peeta nodded without hesitation and did as she said. Slowly, he slung the arm up and began to try and raise him up, hoping the sudden shift from a fetal laying position to standing wouldn't turn his stomach upside down.

Katniss carefully grabbed Haymitch's other arm and curled it around her neck. She slowly stood up with Haymitch and Peeta. Haymitch leaned forward slightly when they were upright and vomited all over the ground. Peeta just sighed. "I expected that..."

Katniss shook a little off her shoe and sighed. "I should have, but I fear I was too optimistic. Let's just get him home."

"We'll be waiting at home, Katniss," Prim informed her before turning back to her mother. The two left, leaving Katniss alone with Peeta and arguably Haymitch's presence.


	3. Moving

Chapter 3. Moving

Trying to take the majority of the weight from Katniss, Peeta trudged out of the dining hall. Luckily for the two - three of them, the feast was decided to be held in the nicer portion of town, which was close to the Victor's Village. Katniss readjusted Haymitch's arm and meandered her way onward, Haymitch's feet dragging between them, being uncomfortably unable to think of anything to say to Peeta.

"Have you gotten your new address yet?" Peeta finally spoke up, breaking the silence. Of course he wasn't going to bring up anything from the train or concerning Gale right now. It was all too soon and still too fresh in his mind that, even with his quick mind, he would accidentally start some sort of fight.

"Yeah," she said awkwardly. "Did you like the party?"

"It was nice..."

There was a long pause.

"... listen, Peeta, I'm sorry. I don't want this to be awkward. We should be happy right now, not like this."

"That's a little difficult right now," he admitted, looking back over Haymitch's dropped head at her. He opened his mouth to say more, but instead bite his tongue and looked away once more.

She bit her lip and hiked Haymitch up a little. "I know, Peeta, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being a terrible person and I'm sorry for upsetting you. You're the best person I know and I'm just... sorry. I couldn't lie to you anymore."

"Best person you know?" He almost laughed a little. "But not good enough to win your heart over apparently..."

She winced and opened the door to Haymitch's house. "I never said that. Please don't do this. I just wanted to be honest and now I feel like I've ruined everything."

Peeta hulled Haymitch in silently until the two were able to slowly lower him onto the couch. Finally, he spoke up again. "I shouldn't blame you and you shouldn't blame yourself."

Katniss dropped Haymitch's arm and stood up straight. "Well, you do... and I do... and Gale does. I just didn't think that coming home would be like this."

"I don't think any of us did." He straightened up before looking back at her. "Katniss, I don't blame you. I was upset, and I still am, but there was nothing that could be done about it... The truth is, it was my fault things turned out this way. From the beginning I should have told you first, not Caesar on public television. Even before that, if I had the courage to talk to you at least once..."

"It's not your fault either, Peeta. At least you stayed the same through the Games. I changed for the worse, I guess." She paused and touched his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Peeta. I really am. It's not like I never had feelings for you. I don't want you thinking I felt nothing."

He continued to look down at her, never breaking his gaze, like he absorbed everything she was saying. And somehow, he smiled. "I guess... I'll just have to try harder then now that the cat's out of the bag."

She blinked and smiled cautiously. "I... uh. What does that mean?"

"I may be upset... the entire situation still infuriates me to a degree... but I still have feelings for you. And if you felt something, then maybe I still have a chance at changing your mind."

"Peeta. I don't know..." She backed up slightly and busied herself making a glass of water to set by Haymitch in the morning. She pushed her braid back and paused. "It's probably not a good idea."

"I still want to try. And, for now, we're still stuck with each other in this forced romance anyways. I want to see if I at least have a chance." He then turned and started towards the door. "Tomorrow's moving day. I guess I'll see you in the morning then."

She smiled slightly and nodded, setting Haymitch's water on the table next to him. "In the morning."

* * *

><p>The next morning, Katniss stepped out of her house in the Seam with a large box balanced precariously in her arms, Madge following close behind with a smaller one, having agreed to help them move into Victor's Village. Katniss craned her neck to see around it as she stumbled to the road.<p>

"I can't believe we get to move into a big house!" Prim exclaimed in excitement, craddling Buttercup in her arms while walking Lady with a leash. She also had a backpack on her back, but their mother trailed behind closely with most Prim's items. "Madge, what's it like living in a large house?"

Madge smiled shyly, walking lightly next to Prim. "Oh, Prim, I don't know. The houses in Victor's Village surpass mine by lightyears."

This just made Prim's excitement tenfold. As they continued to walk, she continued to talk about how she'd have a room to herself and maybe Lady would have her own room as well and how Buttercup will love the new house. Judging by the way the cat was already eying the bags and boxes suspeciously and hissing at them, though, seemed to state otherwise.

As they walked towards their new home, in the distance three figures stood at the home's door. They seemed to also be carrying bags and boxes inside, as if they were moving into the home.

Katniss was struggling to see around her box and finally sighed, holding it awkwardly below her waist. Madge looked into the distance and smiled. "That must be Peeta and his family. That means you'll have nice neighbors."

"I think it is, but..." Prim blinked, tilting her head. "Isn't that the house we were assigned to, Katniss?"

"Wait, what?" Katniss dropped the box to the ground and looked towards the house. The house, indeed, had the address given to Katniss before her departure from the train.

At this point, the figures were clearly visible as Peeta and his parents. Peeta was doing the majority of the lifting, his dad closely following suit behind him. It was when Peeta went to grab the final bag of his possessions that he spotted Katniss. "Morning, Katniss!" he called out with a smile.

Katniss abandoned Madge, Prim, and her mother and walked quickly over to Peeta, dragging her box. "Peeta. Good morning. Why are you unpacking your stuff into our house?"

This caught Peeta completely off-guard. He shook his head, confused. "Your house? The slip that I received on the train from Effie said we were here."

"Yes, the slip that I received has the same address..." Katniss trailed off and paused for a moment. "There must have been a mix-up... right?"

Peeta nodded, putting the bags in his arm down. "Come on inside, we'll call Effie."

Katniss nodded and let go of her box, leaving it in the middle of the street. She headed up towards the house and walked inside.

Peeta followed closely after. Hardly paying any mind to the house itself or his mother inquiring what he was doing, he led Katniss over to the telephone in a hallway. "Give her a call."

Katniss frowned and nodded. She picked up the phone and called the number Effie had given them on the train.

"Hello?" Effie's voice bubbled over the phone.

"Hi, Effie? It's Katniss. Listen, we were just moving into Victor's Village today and Peeta and I noticed that we are located at the same address..."

There was a bit of a silence, as if Effie was waiting for more. After a few more seconds of silence, Effie chimes back in. "And?"

Katniss blinked and then rolled her eyes, sighing. "And... that's wrong."

"Well, there was a small problem..." Effie begins to admit over the phone, holding back saying everything in it's entirity. "Usually, when a Victor gets a home, only one house per year is presented to the Victor and their family. But, this year there were two winners. Panem's number one most talked about lovers. So President Snow decided..."

"So President Snow decided we have to share a house? No. That's not fair."

"You know, it's not so bad and it would definitely help show the world how dedicated the two of you are to each other. Besides, special arrangements have already been made and traditions have already been broken for the two of you, so the President refused to back down on this one."

"There's an entire empty village, except for Haymitch's house!"

"Katniss, I tried and he said no. This was all we could do."

She frowned and sighed. "I understand. You could have told us before this, though."

"There wasn't enough time between your return and the actual move-in date otherwise I would have."

"Yeah... thanks, Effie." She hung up the phone and looked at Peeta, frowning.

"That sounded like it went well. Need help bringing your boxes in?" he half-joked.

She just stared at him blankly, not replying, before walking out of the house again.


	4. Frenzy

Chapter 4. Frenzy

Katniss stood in her and Peeta's new shared living room, frowning, concerned. Madge walked up slowly and stood next to her, touching her shoulder. "It'll be like a slumber party every night?"

Katniss turned slowly and looked at Madge. "Thanks, Madge. But I don't think it's exactly going to be like a 'slumber party'. It's going to be awkward."

"This house is fantastic!" Prim's voice boomed through the house as she dashed into the living room. "Have you seen everything yet, Katniss? I wouldn't be surprised if we could fit Madge's family living with us too!"

Madge smiled at Katniss gently and Katniss just put on a smile for Prim's sake. "Yeah, Prim. Like Madge said, it'll be like a slumber party every night!" She ruffled Prim's hair and lowered her voice a little. "Are you sure you're comfortable with all this?"

"Of course I am! Everything seems new and nice and Peeta's dad seems really nice, I was talking to him while you and mom were finishing unpacking."

"Well, I'm glad." Katniss smiled slightly. "I haven't had the chance to talk to him or Peeta's mom. I don't know if-"  
>Haymitch suddenly walked through the already open front door, either newly inebriated or still a bit drunk from the night before. "Hey Katniss, Katniss's sister, blond girl, how was moving?"<p>

Prim immediately pinched her nose upon seeing Haymitch. To her, he smelled awful - a blend of vomit and alcohol. But still she tried to smile. "J-just fine..."

Katniss scowled and grabbed Haymitch by the arm. "Haymitch, maybe you should go home. Come back when you're sober." Haymitch just laughed. Like he would ever be sober, that's ridiculous.

Madge just smiled and stepped forward, leading him away from Prim. "Haymitch, I'll take you home. Let Peeta and Katniss and their families settle in, okay?"

"You're not going to be able to drag him over by yourself, Madge," Peeta called to her as he walked in. He looked towards Haymitch. "Was there something you needed to talk about and were you just really checking up on the move?"

Haymitch looked at him drunkenly. "I just wanted to feel the awkward of you and Katniss trying to live together, I'll be honest."

"It's not awkward." Peeta reassured him, and it actually sounded somewhat convincing coming out of Peeta's mouth.

Haymitch eyed him warily and then looked at Katniss, who looked sufficiently uncomfortable. He laughed and nodded. "Yeah, I believe you."

Peeta just shook his head before looking out the window. "Was there anything else you needed, Hay-?" he suddenly stopped and began to squint outside. Haymitch stared at him for a moment before falling against Madge who ducked out of the way with considerable speed, causing Haymitch to just hit the ground.

Katniss ignored this and looked at Peeta. "What is it?"

"The train's here," he said, a little dumbfounded like. Traffic in and out of District 12 was always a rarity. It would be expected that more would visit the new Victors of the Hunger Games, but that's rarely done unexpectedly. Effie would at least see to it that Peeta and Katniss were prepared.

Katniss paused and walked to the window, looking at the train. "... I feel like this is not going to be good."

From Victor's Village, the station was actually not too far off. When designing, they definitely wanted to give those who lived there the luxury of a close exit and entrance, considering the amount of interviews and television spots the Victors received. It is also a convenient tool for when camera men bring in their equpitment that they don't have to carry it far. Whatever other reasons they may had to the set up did not matter much now though. As Peeta nad Katniss stared out, they were the first to see the freshly clothed, cropped haired Peacekeeper step first out of the stationed train and off the docking station.

"Do you think this is why Haymitch rolled himself out of his house to tell us?" Peeta directed at Katniss, though never took his eyes off the man.

Katniss didn't look away either. "I'd hope so, but I doubt it."

Peeta said nothing in reply. He could only watch as the crop haired Peacekeeper turned towards the train and began giving directions. After him follow many workers - not Peacekeepers, they looked more like builders. Each held packages of all shapes, sizes, and apparently weight. One large wrapped item was nearly seven feet long and had to be carried by four men. They then all turned and walked towards the center area of the District, where the other Peacekeepers lived.

"I don't like this," Peeta said, finally pulling his head away from the window and looked to Haymitch. "Haymitch!"

Haymitch looked at Peeta blearily and blinked. "Yes, Peetaaar?" Katniss turned away from the window as well and looked at Haymitch.

Peeta crouched down beside Haymitch and pulled him up to a sit. "What's going on? Why is there a Peacekeeper coming and what are all those packages they're bringing in? You're not the type for unwarranted visits, did you know about this?" 

Haymitch nodded his head but closed his eyes slightly instead of answering. Katniss sighed and crossed her arms. "Maybe we could go and follow them? I don't think Haymitch is going to reply."

Peeta sighed as he propped Haymitch's back against the side of the sofa. "Alright. Madge, I'm sorry, but would you mind watching to make sure he doesn't hurt himself while we're out?" he asked, looking up at the blonde girl.

Madge smiled at Peeta and nodded, already sitting on a chair next to Haymitch. "Of course I will." Katniss smiled at Madge and grabbed Peeta's hand, walking quickly out of the house. Peeta hardly even remembered the shut the door behind him. He was focused solely on figuring out what was happening. He kept in mind to stay behind Katniss though, recalling how his loud steps through the Games had only served to cripple her. The further he was from the Peacekeeper, the less likely they would be heard or noticed, he assumed. Katniss dragged Peeta into the center of the district. She ducked behind a building close enough to watch and looked from around the corner.

The Peacekeeper and his builders stop abruptly once they reach the center of the District. A few familiar Peacekeepers are there to greet them, but the majority are absent. And by the look on the crop haired Peacekeeper's face, he takes notice in this. However, he continues to strike a conversation with one of the few.

As the Peacekeeper continued his casual conversations, the builders began to unwrap various parts. At first, they just seemed like pieces to perhaps pieces of furniture or statues, but as the builders began to organize the pieces together into groups of what went where, the shapes they took were easily imagined. The large seven foot piece was a platform with a hole in the center. In it's pile of parts was two long poles, an thicker third pole to connect them, and piles of rope.

Katniss shut her eyes and leaned back against the wall for a second before looking at Peeta. "They're building a gallows. Here."

"What?" Peeta whispered in disbelief. He had the urge to look, but kept himself from doing so, for fear he would reveal too much of himself or make some sort of noise when he saw the parts. "Why would they do that?"

She shook her head, closing her eyes again. "I have no idea. Increased punishment? Maybe the Hob..." Her eyes snapped open.

"What?"

"I'm sure they have noticed, but we have to warn Gale. He could get caught hunting or selling at the Hob."

Peeta nodded to Katniss. "Alright. So where is he? Does he work today?"

"... I'm not sure. I guess I could check his house. The woods."

"Going to the woods isn't permitted. And if they're raising security, you can't get caught in there, Katniss."

"I have to go. If he's already there..."

Peeta looked briefly back to make sure none of the builders or Peacekeepers saw them, before putting his hands on her shoulders. "Don't go running into the woods unless we know he's there first, okay? I don't know Gale as well as you, but I'm certain he wouldn't want you to carelessly go searching and get hurt."

"I know." She paused and kissed his cheek gently. "Watch them for me, okay?" She smiled at him softly and, before waiting for a reply, took off toward the Seam. Caught off-guard by the kiss, by the time Peeta went to nod to her, all he saw was her running off in the distance. With a small sigh, he turned back towards the builders and continued to watch everything they built as well as the new Peacekeeper.

Down in the Seam, Katniss ran straight to the Hawthorne household and knocked hurriedly on the front door. First to the door to answer, Rory opened it and looked at her. "Hey Katniss, need something?"

She smiled at him, panting only slightly. "Hey, Rory, do you know where Gale is?"

He shook his head. "Today is his day off. I'm sorry, Katniss. If you want to find Gale anymore it's rarely at home..."

She bit her lip but smiled anyway. "Thanks anyway, Rory, I think I know where to find him." She patted his head and ran off towards the fence, heart pounding. Just as she was getting close, however, a hand quickly jerked her back and away from it. Once stopping her for a brief moment, Peeta grabbed her wrist. "Katniss!"

Katniss spun around and looked at him. "What are you doing?"

"He's not in there."

"... what? But his brother said he's off today..."

"I just saw him at the Market District on my way here. He must have been trying to sell something. I told him you were looking for him."

"What did he say? Why didn't you bring him with you?"

"Because I didn't want us both having to run in after you if you were already in the forest," Peeta sighed, looking back over his shoulder. "Sounds kinda counter-productive, don't you think? I told him to meet us back at the house."

"His house? Or... our house?" Katniss winced slightly, the words feeling awkward coming out of her mouth.

"Ours. Look, they were bringing in more equipment. Torture equipment it looked like. Most the Peacekeepers are distracted with seeing to the construction, you should go find your friends from the Hob and warn them. I'm going to go find Delly and make sure everything with her is okay. Her little brother can get into trouble at times. But we should hurry."

She bit her lip and nodded. "Okay, we'll meet back at the house. Just hurry." She squeezed his hand and ran off back toward the Hob.

Peeta just stood there for a moment to make sure Katniss was out of sight. Once he was certain she had left, he immediately turned towards the fence. "You better not be far, Gale..." he mumbled before dashing through.


	5. Rivalry

Chapter 5. Rivalry

Katniss was running through Victor's Village, having safely and successfully warned everyone at the Hob about the new restrictions and punishments. She ran back up to her and Peeta's house and through the door, panting.

In the living room sat only Prim, Madge, and Haymitch still. No Gale nor Peeta in sight. Prim was still making a face at Haymitch's odor, but seemed to have gotten used to it enough to place a small couch pillow behind his head to try and make him more comfortable. She looked up. "Katniss! You were gone a long time, what happened?"

Madge glanced up at Katniss as well but Haymitch only let out a small mumble. Katniss glanced around the house and then looked at Prim. "Prim... are Gale and Peeta here? They should have been back before me."

She shook her head. "No, Peeta left with you, remember?"

Katniss paused and then scowled, visibly upset. ".. I remember. If they come by, tell them to wait here, okay?"

Prim nodded and opened her mouth to verbally agreed, but was interrupted by a thunderous loudspeaker.

"Attention District 12. A mandatory public gathering is now taking place at the central plaza. All citizens are required to attend. That is all."

Katniss paused for a moment at the door before glancing back at Prim, Madge, and Haymitch. "Okay, come with me. But leave Haymitch."

"But it's mandatory," Prim brought up, looking to Katniss.

Katniss paused again and then sighed. She walked over to Haymitch and put one of his arms around her neck while Madge covered the other side. Katniss and Madge lurched forward and got Haymitch to his feet. "Alright, then, I guess we'll all go."

"I'll go get mom. We'll meet you there." Prim then turned and scurried up the stairs.

Katniss nodded and, along with Madge and Haymitch, started off as quickly as she could down the street. Madge, however, did not have the strength Katniss did and was significantly slowing down the process.

Not too far behind her, Prim and her mother were exiting the house followed by both of Peeta's parents. All walking with confused looks on their faces, but not a lick of concern for what they might be heading towards. +

A new platform had been built in the hour that Katniss had been absent from observing the construction. On said platform were various pieces of equipment, wrapped in burlap to hide from the eyes of the public for now. At the center of the platform stood the cropped haired Peacekeeper, his black beady eyes staring down as every citizen of District 12 marched towards him.

Katniss took the brunt of Haymitch's weight and powered through to the platform. She dropped Haymitch unceremoniously onto the ground while Madge rubbed her neck in pain. Katniss pushed her way through the small crowd so she was in the front, narrowing her eyes at the Peacekeeper.

After a moment, the Peacekeeper's eyes met with hers and it almost seemed like a small smirk creeped across his face, though it could have been just an illusion. This man didn't seem the type for smiling in any way. His eyes stayed trained on Katniss until a hand reached out and literally pulled her away from his stone stare. "Katniss," Gale voiced hoarsely behind her.

Katniss's eyes widened at Gale's voice and she spun around to look at him. Still adorned in his hunting clothes, his hands and arms were covered in scrap marks and dirt. While his hair never seemed to be in any sort of order, a mixture of sweat and pieces of the elements wedged between his locks. It was obvious he had been hunting, but even more obvious that he had been running.

Katniss went to hug him tightly in relief but then stopped, staring at him. Her eyes narrowed. "You were hunting. I knew you were hunting! Peeta lied to me. Why would he do that? Why are you so sweaty? What.. what's wrong?"

Gale bit his bottom lip a little as he looked up towards the Peacekeeper. "I was in the woods coming back with my bag when I heard someone... Peeta... he went through the fence and found me. He stole my bag then..."

Katniss stared at him and then looked back at the Peacekeeper before uttering a tiny gasp. "Oh no, he got caught."

"Attention citizens of District 12. As new Head Peacekeeper, allow me to introduce myself. You may refer to me as Peacekeeper Thread and I am here to instate the reinforcement of this District's laws and ordanances," the cropped haired Peacekeeper began to announce into the loudspeaker in his hand, his other arm he kept behind his back much like a military drill sargent would. It was almost too fitting of him. "

"And we will now be taking this oppurtunity to give example to you all of those who disobey our Panem Government."

Katniss pushed her way away from Gale and back toward the front of the crowd again, hands curled into tight fists. She eyed the Peacekeeper while silently cursing Peeta for being so loud and uncoordinated.

As Thread took a step back, two other new Peacekeepers walked in, dragging a bound by the wrist Peeta between them, resulting in a symphony of gasps and whispers from the crowd, many concerned and mostly confused as to why Peeta was being brought up. His head hung low but he still walked, his clothing a mess and Gale's game bag hanging from his waist.

"Caught, in the act of leaving the boundaries of his District without permission, it seems our Victors believe to be beyond the rules of the government." While it seemed a simple slip of the tongue, it was obvious that statement was intentionally directed at both Peeta and Katniss for more then just hopping the fence. "A crime usually punishable by death considering... But I am a just man for first offenses."

Katniss's fists tightened further and she grabbed one of Gale's dirty hands in one of her own. She glanced back at him, her face set in a look of defiance, clearly stating she had to do something.

Gale caught this immediately - it was the same look he had the entire time he watched her in the games. The want to stand up and fight. Something Gale was always for. He squeezed her back back, in an almost encouraging way.

Back on the stage, Thread walked over towards one of the burlap clothes and ripped it from a device with three holes, the one in middle being the largest. They were designed to trap Peeta's wrists and head. "So instead the punishment will be decided by the elements. A week, in plain sight for all to see. No food, no company and any seen attempting to aid him will face the same fate."

Katniss froze and her hand went slightly limp in Gale's. Suddenly, her mind was going a million miles an hour with thoughts of how to aid Peeta if they were unable to get him out completely.

"I'm afraid that is going to conflict with his schedule, Peacekeeper Thread," a voice called out from the back of the crowd just as they were opening the device. Katniss's heart jumped into her throat as she quickly turned her head and craned her neck to see who spoke.

It seems many of the other citizens felt the same as Katniss. Nearly every head was turned to stare down the pinked haired women who nonchalantly made her way towards the front of the crowd, nearing Katniss. Peeta's eyes nearly lit up upon seeing her, never thinking he would be so happy to have some sort of busy schedule concocted by Effie Trinket.

Katniss's eyes lit up in a similar way to Peeta's and her body visibly relaxed. Any ill will she felt toward Effie about the housing incident disappeared as soon as she arrived to help Peeta.

"We had not heard of any others entering the District," Thread spat at her, obviously annoyed at her unannounced presence.

"Really? I made all the necessary arrangements to come and speak with Peeta and Katniss in person," she began before stopping next to Katniss. "After this morning's little battle she and I had, I scheduled an emergency meet-up as soon as I got off the phone. Perhaps it was before you were appointed your position officially? Regardless, the punishment you have just stated for one of our most loved Victors up there just isn't going to factor well into my calendar for him."

Katniss mumbled a small thank you and stepped forward to stand closer to Effie, letting go of Gale's hand. She gave Peacekeeper Thread an identical, almost imperceptable smirk to the one he gave her earlier.

He pursed his lips at her. "Victor or not, Peeta Mellark is not above the law. He must be dealt with and this was the punishment agreed upon by-"

"So then what shall I tell President Snow who scheduled a private meeting with the two of them in five days?" she interrupted, all her mindset of manners just shattering due to her obvious annoyance.

"President Snow?" Thread blinked a few times

Katniss's head snapped towards Effie in shock but before she could speak, Haymitch stepped forward finally out from behind Madge and stood next to Effie, looking slightly menacing with his bloodshot eyes. "Yeah, President Snow. I'm pretty sure he has higher authority than you. Now, if you would be so _courteous_ as to release Mr. Mellark to us."

Thread was obviously stuck in a place he did not want to be, especially for his first public appearance. Slowly, as if holding to the little dignity he had left, he closed the locking device and began to unbound Peeta's wrists.

Effie turned and looked directly at Haymitch. "So, it takes me to come all the way out from the Capitol to District 12 for you to finally decide to get up and do something?" she sighed.

Haymitch smiled at her, slightly drunkenly. "Of course, Eff. I figure if I'm useless enough, you'll have to come around and see me eventually."

This caught Effie completely off guard. She opened and closed her mouth about three times before turning and looking back up towards Thread and Peeta, now even more urked then before.

"Don't think this is it for him," Thread warns the crowd. "Or for any of you. Any found outside the fence will suffer dearly for it, as will this boy. Soon."

Peeta rubbed his wrists a little after the ropes were gone from his wrist before turning and walking down into the crowd without another word, heading towards Katniss, Effie, and Haymitch.

Haymitch raised his eyebrows at Katniss and she hurried forward to meet Peeta. She brushed some hair off his forehead and grasped his hands in hers, shooting a glare at Thread. "Are you okay?"

He looked at her and nodded with a faint smile. "I'm fine..."

"Good. So I won't feel bad when I kill you for lying to me."

"We'll talk about that later in private," he laughed before wrapping an arm around her. Even now, he knew what little things to do to keep their act up and wanted to press just who exactly he and Katniss were into Thread's memory. "For now, I need to go thank Effie and Haymitch."

She punched him lightly and playfully against the ribs and nodded, rubbing her face against his shoulder, understanding that she needs to look happy to be reunited with her "boyfriend" after a close call.

As the two walked over, the first person they met with, however, was Gale. Stepping out from behind Haymitch and Effie, he walked forward halfway and looked directly to Peeta.

Peeta halted his and Katniss's walk and looked back at Gale. The two remained silent for a long minute which easily felt more like an hour to the two of them before Gale was the first to drop his gaze, slowly holding his hand out to Peeta. "... thank you."

Katniss gave them both a watery smile before stepping away from Peeta's arm and over to Effie and Haymitch to let the boys have their moment.

Peeta let his arm drop before reaching it out and grasping his hand. "You don't need to thank me. I-"

"I know. You did it for Katniss, not me. That's what I'm thanking you for," he said, looking up. "But this isn't going to change anything."

"Yes it is," Peeta warned, finally letting go of his hand.

Haymitch looked at Katniss from over Effie's head. "This is intense and borderline uncomfortable."

Katniss cleared her throat and raised her voice a little. "Come on, Peeta. Let's go home. We need to talk with Effie."

Peeta smiled and nodded to Katniss. He just walked right passed Gale, who stood staring forward and pondering on what Peeta meant. He then turned his head back to watch them leave, mumbling to himself.

"Fine. Let the games begin."


	6. Surprise

A/N: I've had a few ask the pen name of who I'm working on this with, but I'm sorry to say she doesn't have one. Lily, the one I'm doing this with, and I are actually roleplaying this out on AIM messenger. She plays the roles of characters such as Katniss, Madge, and Haymitch. I roleplay as Gale, Peeta, Effie, Prim, Cinna and most the characters directly connected to them like Gale's family and the stylists [though she took Octavia]. We go back and forth posting each line, which makes me happy that our writing style blends so much that it seems like only one person has written the entire thing as opposed to us going back and forth every sentence.

* * *

><p>Chapter 6. Surprise<p>

Effie at this point had completely taken over their dining room table with pages of papers detailing interviews, scheduled appointments with their stylists, television appearances, and a booklet with the word "talent" in bold letters. Katniss sat at the table, face unamused, and periodically sending glares toward Peeta. Haymitch had joined them as well, at least half-paying attention so as to not get in trouble with Effie.

"And finally, the two of you will be having a televised appearance here from your home showcasing what talent you'd like to get started in three weeks. They expect you to give a small demo of whatever talent you choose, so Haymitch and I will be coming over to help you brainstorm talent ideas."

"... I don't have a talent." Katniss stared at Effie.

Haymitch just snorted. "That much is obvious, sweetheart."

"Neither of you have yet," she sighed before handing them each a booklet with the bold letters on it. "Here is a compiled list of hobbies every past Tribute has taken since they started requiring them around the time of the 43rd Games."

Katniss groaned and flipped idly through the book, pouting. Then she paused, setting the booklet down. "Effie, when were you going to mention President Snow coming to visit us?"

"Today," she sighed before sitting in her chair for the first time today. "I figured it would be best to tell you in person as opposed to on the phone while you were already upset with me this morning."

Katniss fiddled nervously with the edges of the booklet. "Do you have an inkling of what he wants to talk to us about?"

"He said it was private and would not tell me any of the details."

"Of course he did."

She leaned her head back against the top her chair. Peeta sensed the worry behind her words. Slowly, he reached over and put a hand over hers to try and comfort her. Unlike when they were in a public setting or for the camera, which was mostly to show off, this was purely genuine concern. Katniss lifted her head and looked at him cautiously for a moment, unsure because this was a private moment, before smiling worriedly. "I'm sure we'll be fine."

He simply nodded in response before looking down at the booklet in his hands. "You should do singing."

She blinked before leaning back, considering. "Singing? I don't know. That's kind of... private. What are you going to do?"

"I have a few ideas I'm thinking about. I don't want to do the obvious, which would be baking..."

She looked at him blankly. "You have so many talents that you can't choose one?"

"I didn't say that. I just mean I have a few that I'd like to try and see if I am good at," he laughed.

She scowled. "Still. I wish I could do hunting, but that would probably raise questions."

"Too many, especially from Thread," Effie pointed out as she pulled out two more booklets. She handed one over to Haymitch before skimming through a little. As she flipped, she suggested a few passing pages like "Oh! Perhaps you have a hand for pottery?" or "girls always love make-up, you can try that" along with other unexciting, feminine activities. Katniss just sat there, looking at Effie, and not exactly responding to any of her suggestions. She flipped slowly through the book while Haymitch ended up just fanning his face with his.

After about thirty more failed suggestions, Effie just sighed and put the book down in defeat. "Maybe when your stylists come tomorrow they'll have an idea of what to do with you."

Katniss just nodded slightly, not enthused in the slightest. "Maybe you guys can choose something for me and I'll pretend to be interested in it."

"That's not the point. You need to pick something you like doing!" Effie explained, trying to at least get her excited over the idea a little more.

Katniss sighed and just shut the talent booklet. "It's fine. I can do singing like Peeta suggested. It's probably the only thing I'm decent at, anyway."

Effie smiled a little, relieved that Katniss managed to pick something. "Good. Then we'll just have to help Peeta try out a few things and we'll be set. They'll expect you to probably sing a little portion of a song in your interview in a few days, so think of something that will win everybody's hearts over."

Katniss paused and then nodded, fiddling with her hands. She already had the perfect song in mind. She questioned her choice for one brief moment before decisively deciding it was perfect and crossing her arms.

"Well, with that then, that's all I needed to discuss with the two of you together. As I said, the stylists will be here tomorrow to fix you two up and we'll be all ready for the cameras to roll. Katniss, you're free to go off, I need to have a few words with Peeta in private."

Katniss frowned at Peeta before standing up. "Alright...," She smiled a little at Peeta and stepped out the front door.

* * *

><p>Up bright and early, Effie stood at Katniss's door, knocking loudly for the girl to wake up. She had already managed to roll Peeta out at this ungodly hour and somehow, through possible miracle, Haymitch, whom she directed to wait in the living room. Katniss was the last on her list. "Katniss! We are meeting the stylists in only 20 minutes, you must get up now!"<p>

Katniss slowly got up and opened the door, staring at Effie with one eye half closed, bits of hair falling out of her braid. "Why do you all choose to do these things ridiculously early?"

"If you want to be on time, this is actually the latest you could wake up, Katniss. Now hurry on downstairs, Peeta and Haymitch are already waiting."

Katniss mumbled under her breath and, without even bothering to fix her hair, trampled down the stairs to the living room. Effie followed behind her quickly behind her. Also down the stairs, Katniss's mother was serving breakfast to Peeta and Haymitch. Peeta smiled up at her through tired eyes and thanked Mrs. Everdeen before slowly starting to eat his biscuit, hands a little shaky.

Katniss moseyed in and sat between Haymitch and Peeta, grabbing a biscuit. She looked at Peeta and touched his shoulder gently. "Are you okay, Peeta?"

Startled, like she had just appeared out of no where, he dropped his biscuit onto his lap and looked at her. "Oh, sorry Katniss... just tired."

She frowned, but nodded and didn't push the issue. However, she kept her hand on his arm reassuringly and began to chew quietly on her biscuit.

Peeta picked up the biscuit again, slowly nibbling on it, holding it securely with two hands. As a another 20 minutes passed, there was a light knocking at the door. "There they are!" Effie smiled before running off, leaving the three of them alone.

Slowly, Peeta looked up as Effie left and turned his gaze on Katniss. "Sorry about that..."

She smiled at him a little. "It's okay. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah... how have you been sleeping?"

She shrugged slightly, averting her eyes. "Probably not as good as before. Why? Are you having trouble?"

He didn't answer but instead took another bite of the biscuit. Before the conversation could continue, the familiar flood of stylists followed quickly behind Effie. Upon entering the door, Cinna smiled slightly towards Katniss. "Hello again, Girl on Fire."

Katniss furrowed her eyebrows but then turned to Cinna and burst out into a smile. "Cinna."

Effie looked back to the rest of the stylists, smiling at them all. "Do your best with them for the interviews this week! I'll leave them in your hands."

* * *

><p>One trip upstairs later, Cinna was bringing in bags of clothing and hanging them on the wall for after the team of stylists finished with her makeup and hair. However, Venia, Flavius, and Octavia were currently helping Portia with Peeta first, leaving Cinna and Katniss alone.<p>

After he finished hanging the clothing, Cinna turned back to her. "So, how's the life of a Victor been treating you this past week?"

Katniss sat in her indicated chair and crossed her ankles, looking back at Cinna. She smiled slightly and shrugged. "Much more stressful than I imagined it to be. I guess I'll get used to it, though."

"You will," he reassured her. "I assumed it would be right after you got back."

"Thanks, Cinna." She paused for a quick moment and looked him in the eye. "How's the Capitol?" She was clearly fishing for information on the upcoming President Snow visit and figured, if he knew anything, Cinna was the only one who could divulge it discreetly.

"Well, you caused quite a bit of unrest there," Cinna began. "You and Peeta have both become the most talked about Victors I've ever heard while there. You'd find it hard to not find your image somewhere in Capitol stores. Well, more so your trademark then your actual picture."

"My trademark?"

"Your pin. There's quite a large demand for mockingjay apparel these days, can't imagine what brought that on though."

She smiled a little, wondrously, at the effect a little, unassuming pin could have. "Huh. No idea."

Cinna cracked a small smile back towards her before a knock on the door interrupted them. Cinna looked over his shoulder towards it before looking down at Katniss. "They must be finished with Peeta. I'll be back in when they finish. You have a lot of interviews this week leading to your meeting with the President, so we can talk more later if you want."

Katniss nodded. "Okay. I'd like that, Cinna." She smiled at him slightly once more before glancing back at the door.

With a last smile, he walked over towards the door and opened it. His smile quickly faded and was replaced with a genuine look of shock though. Standing at the doorway before him wasn't his three bubbly, air headed assistants but instead the thin, white haired President of Panem. Snow only looked to Cinna for a second before his dark, snake eyes darted towards Katniss.


	7. Iris

A/N: Special shout-out to one of our favorite reviewers/fans! Thank you Cloud-Lover26 for being a generally awesome person. Both me and Lily love your comments and encouragement! This chapter is dedicated to you. Now, **_anywhore_**, on to the story! :D

* * *

><p>Chapter 7. Iris<p>

Katniss's face flashed briefly with a look of fear before she quickly rectified it. She swallowed the lump in her throat, but couldn't smile. "President Snow. Effie said you wouldn't be around for another 4 days."

"My schedule was free. I'm certain your escort can fit this into her schedule."

President Snow reached out and pushed Cinna out of the way so he could enter the room. It wasn't a very forceful push, but hard enough to visibly irritate the designer, who clenched his right fist slightly but quickly regained his composure. Katniss's eyebrows furrowed when Snow pushed Cinna, but she kept her mouth shut. When he turned back to look at Katniss, he gave her a apologetic look for opening the door at all.

She caught Cinna's look and gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head, silently telling him it's fine. She turned back to President Snow.

"Okay... well. To what do we owe this pleasure?" she asked, sarcastically.

"This is a private meeting," he informed her before shooting a glance back at Cinna. The designer caught the president's gaze before looking once again to Katniss, almost like he was afraid to leave her alone with him.

Regardless, he nodded slightly at her. "I'll be with the stylists to finish you up when this is over." he told her, though it sounded more like a promise.

Once Cinna had left, Snow appraised Katniss for a moment. "Such an average girl."

She turned away from the door and to President Snow slowly, setting her hands tightly on her knee. She stared right back at him and forced a slight smirk onto her face, ignoring his comment.

"Yet you leave such a strong impression," he continued, unblinking.

"Yes..." She watched him, nervously awaiting for him to continue.

"The mentor for the Quarter Quell has been decided. Both you and Mr. Mellark will mentor during the Quarter Quell."

She stared at him for a moment, baffled, before clearing her throat. "Right. May I ask why two mentors are necessary this year?"

"Katniss," his voice hissed towards the end of her name. "I assume you were educated enough to know about the Quarter Quell."

Katniss surpressed a shudder at the way he spoke her name and simply nodded. "Of course. Every 25 years, a Quarter Quell marks the anniversary of the districts' defeat by the Capitol."

"And every 25 years, the Games are enhanced in some way or another. We are still figuring out the details, but the requirement of two mentors are essential to this upcoming year. So prepare yourself for the remainder of the months to come."

She pressed her lips together for a moment before nodding. "Of course, but why me and Peeta? Why not me and Haymitch? To be completely honest, Peeta is not the best choice for a mentor..."

"Haymitch has fulfilled his duties as a mentor, being the last surviving Victor for so long. It is cruel of you to suggest having him go through helping a child to their death again after he did what he could to ensure your victory, Katniss," he turned around at her with a smirk.

Katniss narrowed her eyes at him, unable to control her tongue. "And it is cruel of you to force a sweet boy like Peeta Mellark to force children to die for your Capitol's amusement."

There was a long pause as President Snow's smirk grew slowly. Finally, he spoke up again. "You are still trying to fool the world with this love story I see."

She crossed her arms. "It is not fake, if that's what you're implying, _sir._"

"You cannot fool me, Katniss. I know all you said."

She raised her eyebrows slightly. "All I said?"

He let out a small laugh as another light knock on the door interrupted them. Snow looked up as it opened, Katniss's mother standing with a tray of cookies and tea.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," she began with her head down, almost like she was trying to bow at Snow. "But I thought you might enjoy these..."

"Such hospitality," Snow smiled towards Katniss's mother. "Yes, leave them here."

Katniss chewed on her lip and looked away from President Snow and at her mother, but didn't say anything. Mrs. Everdeen placed the cookies down at the end table near the President. She nodded her head down towards him before turning and exiting the room.

"Such a lovely family you have, Katniss. I do hope you enjoy as much time you have with them as possible," the president casually commented as he took one of the cookies.

She clenched her jaw, pushing the panic out of her voice, as she forced her eyes back to President Snow. "I do."

He just smiled as he took a bite of the cookie. After another minute, he looked back up at her. "Convince me."

She blinked. "Convince you of what?"

"If what you say is true about you and Mellark, prove it. You have a year to convince me then perhaps I'll reconsider my choice of mentor."

She clenched her jaw and nodded, lowering her eyes. "How exactly would I... convince you?"

He laughed as he stood up from his chair, picking up another cookie as he did. "Katniss, do you really expect me to believe that you can rewrite the history of the Hunger Games but can't make a teenage romance believable?"

Her eyes snapped up to him. "I thought I was."

"Then perhaps you should stop telling dark haired hunters otherwise." His voice was sharp and cold, almost in a threatening tone.

Katniss snapped her mouth close and looked away, not having a thing to say in defense. "Yes. Thank you, President Snow."

Snow finished his second cookie then started for the door. Coughing a few times, he stopped at the door knob and looked back at her. "If you fail this, Katniss, there will be consequences."

She clenched her jaw, but didn't look back at him. Instead, she stared at the blank wall in front of her. "I understand that."

"I'm glad we're," he began, interrupting himself to cough again. "... on the same page."

She cringed slightly at the wet coughing, but remained sitting still, straight and strong. "We are, sir. Now, if we're all done, I believe I have some interviews to prepare for."

The president said nothing else before pushing the door open. However, his legs suddenly gave out as he crashed to the ground loudly at the doorway, his cough worsening. Katniss jumped up out of her chair in surprise and turned to look at him. However, she, of course, did not move to help him.

Violently the President coughed as he sat on his knees. Blood began to seep from between his fingers from the violence and his eyes widening in pain. In the hallway, Katniss's mother stepped into sight and looked in the room towards Katniss.

"Katniss!"

Katniss glanced up at her mother and didn't hesitate. She ran to her mother in the hallway, dodging around the kneeling figure of President Snow. "What's wrong with him?"

Once she was near her, Mrs. Everdeen grapped Katniss by the shoulders and turned her away from the President. "Get everybody out of here and find the Peacekeepers, but not Thread. Tell them someone poisoned the president."

Katniss stared at her mother for a long moment before nodding and running down the hallway to the stairs, screaming loud to get everyone out. Effie, who had been complaining to Haymitch over how the interviewers would be there soon and Katniss still hadn't seen her stylists, was the first to hear Katniss. She jumped a little at the shouting before running towards the stairs to intercept the girl. Katniss ran to Effie and grasped her forearms, tears still lingering in her eyes from her and the President's conversation. "E-Effie, we have to get everyone out of here. The President... he collapsed."

"WHAT?" Effie's heart nearly stopped upon hearing this, her stress at it's peak. "Collapsed! HOW?" she panicked, staring down Katniss then looking back at Haymitch.

"My... my mother says it seems as if he's been poisoned." Katniss eyed Effie and Haymitch, who clenched his jaw and nodded knowingly.

"It's okay, Effie. Katniss, go find some Peacekeepers... we'll handle getting Peeta, Prim, and the stylists out." A small pause. "Well? Go!"

Katniss jumped slightly at his tone, but nodded and ran down the stairs. Effie watched at Katniss leave before staring up at Haymitch, wide eyed and shaking from the sudden turn of events. "She didn't... she couldn't have!"

Haymitch just clenched his jaw and didn't say anything. "Just go on outside, Effie. Get some fresh air." He turned his head down the hallway. "Prim! Peeta! Everyone! HERE. NOW."

"She couldn't... Oh heavens, the reporters will be here soon!" Effie further stressed before turning on her heel and running in a frenzy out the front door, hoping to stall for time with them. The last thing this situation needed was immediate televised time.

* * *

><p>Katniss ran out of Victor's Village and up to center of town, where the Peacekeepers often were. At the center, a few citizens were being held in the stocks on the stage for petty crime, but only one Peacekeeper stood watch. The youngest, Darius, was standing next to a woman who was being held in the same device Peeta was to be sentenced to the previous day. He was speaking with her though, almost trying to sound as comforting as he could be, obviously distressed by the new regime of his district.<p>

Katniss paused only briefly to stare at the people in the stocks. She frowned, but then ran straight over to Darius, grasping the sleeve of his uniform gently. "Darius! Darius, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I need your help."

Darius looked down at Katniss, giving her a faint smile. "Oh, Katniss. I'm on duty right now, but I can break myself away for you," he flirted with a small, hollowed laugh.

She nodded and grabbed his sleeve, starting back toward Victor's Village. "Well, President Snow barged into my house for a conversation..." She explained the entire situation to Darius while walking hurriedly back to the house, but left out the fact that her mother brought cookies.

"Katniss, this doesn't sound good on your or Peeta's behalf," he warned, looking at her. "If he started like that and spoke with Peeta first."

She faltered briefly and shook her head. "It wasn't Peeta."

"As a long time friend, I believe what you say, but as a Peacekeeper and from any other Peacekeeper's point of view, it doesn't look good."

She paused and stopped walking, letting go of Darius's sleeve. "It was me, Darius."

"If it was, you wouldn't have come to me. Katniss, I'm not telling you take the blame so Peeta doesn't get hurt. We just need to investigate this further, before the new Peacekeepers get wind of it. We need to figure out who really did do it or Thread will have a field day on you and Peeta, he won't differentiate between you two."

"Darius, please, I know who it was. Can we please just say it was me?"

As the two entered the Victor Village, Darius stopped and looked back at her. "Who was it?"

She shook her head, lowering her eyes and refusing to look at him. "I don't think I should say."

In the background behind Darius, the reporters for the interview were all gathered and talking to Effie. Effie, clearly at a loss of what to do, was trying to convince them that Katniss was not ready and ignoring the questions as to why Peeta, Prim, and everybody else were waiting outside.

Off to the side of them, Prim was staring at the house, almost knowingly. Her happy little smile was far gone and sadness replaced all other emotions.

Katniss caught sight of Prim and clenched her jaw. "Darius. It was me. Do whatever you have to do, but that's the end of it, understand?"

"I won't promise anything, Katniss," he warned. "But I'll pretend you didn't tell me you knew who did it."

Katniss simply nodded and walked behind Effie, past all the reporters, and straight to Prim, wrapping an arm gently around her shoulders.

Prim blinked and looked up at Katniss. Water was visible in her eyes, but she was managing to hold back any tears. She was forcing herself to grow up so quickly, to become strong enough for everybody just like her sister. She turned a little to face Katniss better before grabbing hold of her sister's hand. "Katniss... I know."

Katniss brushed her sister's hair back carefully with her free hand and nodded. "I know, Prim. Just don't say anything. To anyone."

This, however, seemed to confuse Prim a little. She stared at Katniss. "... we're not going to have to."

She frowned. "What?"

Prim said nothing as the door to the house opened. Effie jumped a little in surprise as she and the reporters all turns to look at the house. In the doorway, Mrs. Everdeen stood, clenching the white rose from President Snow's suit jacket in her right hand. Picking her head up, she stared directly into one of the cameras. It seemed like the cameraman behind it caught this cue and turned the camera to record.

Once the red light was on, Mrs. Everdeen lifted the rose for it to be in sight of the camera before dropping it to the ground and stepped forward, crushing it. "People of Panem, President Snow is dead. And I, Iris Everdeen, confess to the murder."


	8. Uproar

Chapter 8. Uproar

Katniss's arm dropped from around her sister in shock and she started to run toward her mother before Haymitch caught her around the waist and pulled her back. Cinna stepped forward, putting his hand on one of her shoulders to stop her as well. He leaned in and whispered, "She's going public to protect you two, don't make that in vain."

Katniss let out a small sob, but relaxed a little against Haymitch when Cinna touched her shoulder. "But she shouldn't have to. She shouldn't have done anything."

"We'll talk more about this later in private," Cinna promised before looking back up towards Iris.

The reporter at this point had dropped her microphone in shock of the announcement. Her, her crew's, and Effie's mouth remained agape by the news of their president being murdered by this average mother.

Seeing the microphone, Iris picked it up from the ground. She turned and looked towards the camera. "How long will we continue to stand around and let our children be stolen from us? We're nothing but average people, but as I just showed, so are they. They can do as they want to me, but I'll die knowing I've done my part to protect everybody."

With that, she turned back to the reporter and handed her the microphone. Without a word, she looked to Darius, who was stunned by everything he was witnessing. Slowly, she smiled towards him though it was hollow. "Darius, this is the part you arrest me."

Slowly, Darius walked over to her and began to handcuff her. As he did this, a large rock flew from behind Katniss and directly smashed itself into the camera. Mrs. Mellark let out a shriek from behind the group as Mr. Mellark began to pick up another, larger stone for the reporters.

Katniss jumped and looked back at Mr. Mellark in shock before getting pulled to the side with Prim by Haymitch so Mr. Mellark could have a clearer shot.

Cinna also turned towards Venia, Flavius, and Octavia, moving them away from the scene as well. While Cinna was able to keep calm in excitable situations like these, he knew full well his team were the exact opposite and didn't want them getting stuck in the cross fire.

Mr. Mellark tossed another rock, hitting the camera with such force that this time it fell from the man's hands. Struck with fear, the reporter screamed for her crew to go back to the train as she began to retreat away. The crew did as instructed upon seeing Mr. Mellark eying up a stone the size of his head and were gone in an instant, leaving the now broken camera behind.

"HAS THE WORLD GONE INSANE?" Effie cried, looking to the camera. Yes, the situation has worked her up, but the fact that she was standing near the cameraman when the stones were thrown threw her off the edge of distress. "No warnings! Such violence and ill mannered actions! I could have been hit!"

Haymitch let go of Katniss and looked over at Effie. "For God's sake, Effie, calm down. It's over now and you're fine."

Katniss walked over to her mother and Darius, now torn. She was seeing her mother in a new light. Gone was the depressed woman unable to leave her house after her husband's death. In her place, there was a strong woman willing to give up everything for her children. However, she also felt anger at her giving herself up and getting herself arrested. "Mom..."

Iris looked down at Katniss and smiled down at her. Darius had only had enough time to cuff one of her wrists before the stones had began flying and distracted him. With her free arm, she pulled Katniss in close and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry about this Katniss, but you're going to have to take care of Prim a lot more again..."

She shook her head and hugged her mother back, pressing her face against her neck. "I know, Mom... that was so brave. So incredibly stupid, but also the bravest thing I've ever seen. I know I haven't been the most thankful daughter, but know... know that I'm proud of you. And I'm going to do everything I can to try and help you."

Iris just hugged on tighter to Katniss, tears slowly falling from her eyes. As the two embraced, another pair of arms found themselves to them, one around Katniss's waist and the other around her mother's from their sides. Prim's.

Iris lifted an arm to go around Prim's shoulders and just held her daughters as closely to her as she could, in her mind knowing this would be most likely be the last time she was able to do so.

Katniss curled one of her arms around Prim tightly as well and held them both while holding her tears back. She pulled away after a few long moments and just looked at her mother wordlessly.

Iris leaned forward, kissing Prim on the forehead before doing the same to Katniss. "I love you both so very much... And I know you two will be fine."

Katniss lowered her eyes and wrapped her arm around Prim again, trying hard to stay strong for her. "We'll _all _be fine."

She just smiled at Katniss before straightening up and looking at the rest of the group, specifically at Mr. Mellark. She nodded a little at him and mouthed a 'thank you' before turning to Darius. "I'm sorry, I'm ready now, Darius."

Obviously heartbroken and torn over the whole ordeal, Darius forced himself to finish cuffing Iris. "Your trial will be in a week after contacting the higher ups on the events that transpired today," Darius began, putting on the best Peacekeeper official tone he could to prevent himself from cracking. "Please follow me, Iris..."

With that, the two of them began to walk off. Prim just clung tightly to Katniss but watched as her mother walked off.

By this point, Effie had regained her composure. She straightened the pink wig on her head a little before turning to Haymitch. "It would be best if we could get everybody into your house. If... he's... up there..." she trailed off, the thought of President Snow's body laying lifeless in Katniss's bedroom appearing in her mind. The same room she had been in this morning, forcing the girl to wake up, slamming her fist repeatedly onto the door... She started to shake again slightly.

Haymitch curled an arm hesitantly around Effie's shoulders. "Sure, Effie. Everyone into my house until everything's sorted..."

Katniss didn't say anything. She kept her arm around Prim and headed over to Haymitch's house.

* * *

><p>Katniss was sitting on Haymitch's couch silently, unsure and watching the wall. Haymitch decided that, to calm down Effie, he should try to be a respectable host, but since he had spent all his money on liquor, he could only hand out small glasses of water to everyone.<p>

Prim had decided to help Haymitch pass out glasses of water, leaving Katniss alone on the couch. Seeing this, Peeta cautiously walked over and sat down beside her. He wasn't sure what to say to her, but he knew he had to try. "... wanna talk?"

She swallowed hard and looked at him blankly with tears in her eyes she refused to let fall. "I don't know what to say."

"Whatever you want. I'll listen."

She smiled weakly and leaned her head against the couch. "I know, Peeta. I just feel so selfish because I know what's going to happen to my mother, so I guess I'm more concerned about us."

"I don't think that makes you selfish. It's what she would want you to be more concerned over."

"But it isn't what I should be concerned over. I guess Gale's right, I'm not who I used to be. My focus should be on my mother and Prim, but instead I'm focusing on how to keep you away from mentoring the Games."

Peeta blinked and looked at her. "Me?"

"Yeah, you. And now that President Snow is gone, who knows who we're going to have to deal with during the Quarter Quell?"

"...maybe it won't be so bad," he tried to comfort. "I mean, Snow seemed to take things personally... maybe whoever replaces him won't."

"Or they'll be worse. But maybe they won't force us to keep up this facade, you know? I guess we'll have to see."

Peeta paused, pressing his lips together a little. He just nodded a little before looking away slightly. "... try not to worry about me though."

She smiled a little and rubbed his arm. "I made a deal with Snow to see if me and Haymitch could be the mentors instead of you. If that's still in place, I intend to honor it, Peeta."

"Why?"

"Because, Peeta... you're too sweet to have to attempt to teach a child how not to die. And then send them to their death."

Peeta pulled his arm away from her hand a little and looked back at her. "I was one of those children too, Katniss. I don't need protected."

She furrowed her eyebrows and sat back a little. "I know that. I didn't say you weren't. I was trying to help you, Peeta."

"Katniss, just... Just worry about yourself, okay? Worry about you and Prim and let me handle things like that, okay?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Why? Peeta, no offense, but I feel like I'm just a tiny bit more capable than you are."

"I'm fully capable!" At this point, regardless of what she said, he was getting slightly offended by her need to protect him. "I can manage myself. It's not like I'm going back in there myself."

"You don't know what they're going to do, Peeta! The Capitol is beyond angry with us. They're not just going to let what we did go and if you think everything's fine, you're an idiot." She stood up abruptly.

"I never said everything is fine! That's the exact reason I _don't_ want you worried about me!" he nearly yelled before getting up as well.

Katniss turned slightly pink. "I know. I know exactly what you're doing. What I don't understand is why is it okay for you to protect me, but when I try to do the same, it's the worst thing I can do?"

"Because I lo... Because you protected me enough in the Arena and I'd be dead if you hadn't found me. I'm sorry for wanting to return the favor," he said before turning and walking out, past Cinna.

Katniss watched him leave before crossing her arms and stomping her foot like a five year old throwing a tantrum. "So infuriating!"

Cinna just gave Katniss a small grin. "You two act like an old married couple almost."

She sat back down on the couch, pulling her knees up to her chest. "I feel like we are most of the time."

"Is that bad?"

"I'm not sure yet."

Cinna walked over, sitting down beside her. He put a hand on her shoulder. "There's too much going on right now for you to be worrying about things like that anyways. Do you want me to get anything for you?"

She shook her head slightly. "I'm okay. Thanks though, Cinna. I just want to go hunting, but..."

"That definitely wouldn't be smart... Do you want me to fetch Gale?"

Katniss paused for a moment before shaking her head. "I can find him."

"Alright," Cinna nodded before standing back up. "We'll all be here. Effie's trying to get a hold on somebody at the Capitol to see what all is going on, so by the time you return we'll hopefully have some new news."

She smiled slightly and nodded, standing up as well. "Thanks, Cinna. I won't be long." And she turned and left Haymitch's house on a search for Gale.

Cinna watched as she walked out, smiling ever slightly. "Stay strong, Girl on Fire."


	9. Confessions

Chapter 9. Confessions

Katniss quickly left Victor's Village without looking at her house and went straight to the Seam. She knocked gently on the Hawthorne's door. Surprisingly, Gale answered the door. He blinked a few times. "Hey Catnip, what brings you here?"

Katniss's eyes welled up with tears again and she looked at her feet awkwardly. "I... I just... you know, since we can't hunt... I wanted to see you. I guess."

Gale immediately sensed something was wrong, both from her body language and from the way she spoke. He looked back over his shoulder briefly, before stepping out and putting his hands on her shoulders. "Hey, is everything okay?"

She shook her head quickly and pressed her hands against her eyes. "My mom's been arrested."

"What?" This alarmed Gale. He bent down a little, trying to get a look at Katniss's face while he still held her. "What happened, Katniss?"

Katniss dropped her hands and looked up at him, eyes red-rimmed and watery. "She killed President Snow, Gale. He came to my house, was... threatening me. It was... it was the most magnificent, brave, yet stupid thing I've ever seen."

Gale's eyes widened more then he ever thought they could. The idea of Katniss's mother, Iris Everdeen, the fragile, little healer woman of District 12 killing anybody was a shock in itself to Gale, but the president of Panem? "She... he's dead? She really managed it?"

She nodded and pressed her hands back against her face. "He's dead. She poisoned him and Darius had to arrest her. And all the reporters and camera people were there... it was... horrible."

Gale suddenly realized he shouldn't be pressing her for details just yet. He could clearly see the worry and stress she was going through. Closing the door behind him, Gale stepped closer to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "Hey, come on now, it isn't like you to stress out like this. What did I promise you before you left? That I'd take care of your family, remember? Just because you're home doesn't change that."

She pressed her face against his shoulder and sighed. "Things usually aren't piled on like this and we usually have an outlet, you know? Instead, I'm getting yelled at by Peeta, my mom's been arrested, President Snow died in my bedroom, and I can't stand to see the look on Prim's face. I can't even look at her. And I wasn't sure about... us, after, you know, the party and everything."

"I'm sorry," he half-mumbled in an almost embarrassed tone. "I just... I was upset and confused at how everything was happening. I thought I knew one thing was a fact and it turned out the opposite and I didn't know how to react."

Slowly, he pulled back and looked down at her. "At the very least, we'll still always be friends. I want to be there for you in times like this and I didn't mean to make it seem otherwise."

She paused and looked up at him before nodding slightly. "I know. I was embarrassed too, but I know you'll always be my best friend, Gale. I just..." She trailed off for a moment before furrowing her eyebrows. "What did you think was fact and then wasn't?"

"We shouldn't talk about this now."

She groaned and leaned her head back. "Why is everyone saying that today? It's not like this day could get any worse; it can only get better..."

Gale pressed his lips together, trying his hardest to find the right words to say. "I thought you and Peeta... I believed everything that happened in the Games was true. That you really cared for him like that and I hated myself for not being able to tell you what I needed to say before you left for the Games..."

She waited a moment before standing up straighter and looking at him. "What did you need to tell me?"

"I wanted you to know... And to never forget that... I love you."

"I... Gale." Katniss teared up for the umpteenth time that day and wrapped her arms around him. "You should have told me."

He almost instantly hugged her back, hiding his head in her messed up brown hair. "I tried... before you left but they didn't give me the time..."

She sighed when he hugged her back and sniffled. "I just wish they would have. You've never said that before."

"I should have," he admitted. "But I was afraid it would make things between us awkward."

She pulled away and shook her head. "Nothing could ever make things between us awkward. I thought you knew that."

"Sure it could. It already has," he said, not looking directly at her.

"How?"

"Because you still haven't told me your feelings."

She closed her eyes, hoping this wouldn't be brought up. "Gale... I don't know. I know I love you, I've told you that. But then there's Peeta and we're supposed to be together for the Quarter Quell... and somehow, President Snow knew what I told you about my feelings for Peeta. And I don't know how the next president is going to feel. If it was just me and you..."

"... I understand. It's okay." By the tone of his voice, however, he didn't seem quite okay. But none the less, he smiled down at her slightly before running his fingers through her hair once. "Try not to stress out too much okay everything. I'll think of something to make things better."

She frowned at him and set her hands on the back of his neck. "Don't be upset with me, Gale."

"I'm not upset with you, Katniss." Gale looked once to his left then right quickly before leaning in and kissing her on the forehead. "I promise, I'm not."

She blushed a little and smiled a bit, nodding, dropping her hands back down to her lap. "Good. Because if it were up to me..."

"Then that's good enough for me for now," he reassured her before taking a step back.

She smiled and nodded. "Good. Thanks, Gale, for everything, but I need to get back... Cinna said there should be some more news from the Capitol soon."

He nodded before putting a hand on the top of her head and ruffling up her already messy hair some more. "If you need anything else, you know where to find me."

She scrunched up her nose at him. "Yeah, I know. I'll see you soon. And thanks for messing up my hair."

"Anytime, Catnip."

She smirked at him and squeezed his hand once discreetly before heading back to Haymitch's house.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, back at Haymitch's house, Effie slammed the phone down with such a force it would have probably surprised herself, if she wasn't so visibly frustrated. She let out a disgusted groan before falling into a nearby chair and putting her hands over her face. Katniss walked into Haymitch's house, still smiling. Her smile faded when she saw the state Effie was in and she frowned. "What did I miss?"<p>

"Everything! All the planning I've been doing, all the interviews, canceled!" she threw her arms up in frustration before looking to Katniss. She sighed. "They refuse to tell me much of anything..."

She smiled a little and sat down in a chair next to Effie. "I'm sure they're just panicked over Snow."

"They did tell me they were sending in more Peacekeepers, probably to investigate your house," she informed her as she attempted to straighten up and fix her wig with her fingers. "We'll have to figure out a living arrangement with you and Peeta."

She frowned. "Me and Prim can always go back to our old house in the Seam until everything's settled?"

"No, we need to keep you near a phone and together, in case the Peacekeepers start to point fingers towards you. I'll talk to Haymitch and see if he could spare some room here for awhile longer and maybe get somebody to clean this filthy place."

Haymitch scowled from behind her. "It's not filthy, it's lived-in."

Effie jumped from the sudden voice behind her before shooting a glare back instantly. "It is _rude _to sneak up on someone who is obviously been under a lot of stress like that!"

"Of course Katniss and Peeta and their families can stay here. And if you would give into my requests to give you a massage, I promise you'd loosen right up." Haymitch winked at her.

Katniss shuddered and stood up, murmuring "gross." Effie just made a face at him before standing as well. "So positively crude and unprofessional..." she muttered, shaking her head and crossing her arms tightly.

Katniss wandered away while Haymitch just continued smirking. He took a sip of white liquor and shrugged. "Maybe you're too professional and too much of a prude."

"I don't need this right now," she hissed, turning from him. "I need to get back to work unless you think that you can manage the schedules of _two_ Victors on top of everything that transpired today."

"I think I can manage it. If you... you know... want a break." Haymitch muttered softly.

Effie furrowed her eyebrows, a little confused at his. She didn't know whether it was meant to be condesending or genuine. She paused for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Hmph. I think I'll manage."

Haymitch grumbled and shrugged, moving to sit in Effie's chair. "Fine, then you're not allowed to complain. I offered."

She turned to nag at him some more before stopping herself. "Are you going to be sitting here for awhile?"

He blinked and looked up at her. "Uh, yeah."

She bit her bottom lip a little, really not wanting to ask a favor of Haymitch in the middle of their spat. However, she was drained and nearly desperate. "... I'm waiting on a call from the Capitol regarding the reporter from earlier. Will you take a message from them when they call? I already left my message to inquire about the footage taken of Katniss's mother."

Haymitch held back a smart ass comment and just smiled slightly. "Sure, Effie. I think I can handle that."

"I hope you could be competent enough for that much." She then turned and started to walk before stopping. "... how do I get to the spare bedrooms in this house?" she asked in more of an embarrassed mumble.

Haymitch smirked at her embarrassment. "Upstairs. There are three spare bedrooms to the left."

"Right... thank you," she said hastily before power-walking up the stairs.

Haymitch chuckled derisively at her back before leaning back in his chair and awaiting the phone call. Not even fifteen minutes passed after Effie disappeared into the spare bedroom before the phone began to ring beside him. He sighed heavily and grabbed the phone, answering it. "Haymitch Abernathy."

"Mr. Abernathy, I'm returning a call for Effie Trinket. Is she available?" a younger female's voice asked on the phone in her thick, Capitol accent. Just the type Effie would associate with.

He grimaced a little and sat up in his chair. "I'm afraid she isn't, but she told me to take a message."

"Oh. That's odd of her," the woman mumbled before clearing her throat. "Well, okay yeah. She was asking about the recordings the cameramen shot earlier. Just let her know that the footage was live-streamed while recording to the Capitol's department of media and cannot be retrieved."

He winced a little but cleared his throat. "Okay, yeah, I'll let know. Thanks."

"Oh, and Mr. Abernathy, can you take one more message down for her please from me personally?"

"Sure."

"Well, earlier she called asking my supervisor about train transportation back to the Capitol and he said he would get back to her tomorrow. He's given me the message to give now since I have you on the line. It says that no in or outbound trains will be going through District 12 with the exception of the Peacekeepers coming to investigate the Everdeen and Mellark residence tomorrow."

"So... how long is she stuck here for?" A small smirk snuck onto Haymitch's face.

"Her, as well as the fashion crew for the two, cannot leave until further notice. That's all the information I have for now, I'm sorry."

"That's fine, we'll think of something. Thank you."

"Thank you for taking the notes then, Mr. Abernathy," she said before hanging up.

He hung up his phone as well and gave a small shudder at how nice he was to that unknown woman. He stood up and walked upstairs. "Effie?"

Inside the spare bedroom, Effie laid fast asleep still in her clothing but she had washed off all the makeup and taken off any jewelry she had on. Among the accessories she stripped herself of was the hot pink wig, revealing her natural head to be an unruly, curly blonde head of medium length hair. She was almost unrecognizable if it wasn't for her trademark green attire.

She did not stir or even more when Haymitch called her name. Haymitch walked into the spare bedroom Effie was in and went to call her name again but faltered. He tilted his head to the side and actually smiled, just a little bit. He quietly took a quilt from the closet and laid it carefully on top of her, tucking her in.

* * *

><p>AN: Sorry for the overly fluffy chapter! We promise to get back to the drama and plot next chapter, but it just sort of came out this way and I'm keeping it because I like how it ended up showing that Haymitch and Effie are HUMAN [i.e. Effie can look normal and Haymitch can actually care about things when no one's looking]

Please review if you got this far, even if you dont have an account! Anonymous commenting is on.

Shout-out for this chapter goes to NeilHighwind! I dedicate this marshmellowy fluff chapter to you, sir.


	10. Broadcasts

Chapter 10. Broadcasts

Over the course of the following month, everything seemed to begin to calm down. At first, multiple Peacekeepers were interrogating everybody in the household but when it became clear none knew of Iris Everdeen's plot to poison the President, they decided they had their murderer and were content. They had taken the body, issued the Mellarks and Everdeens back into their house, and held a televised showing of President Snow's funeral procession.

Among other mandatory broadcasts also came the introduction of the new president of Panem. An emergency election was held, in the Capitol only of course, and from there the grey haired 50 year old President Coin had been born. Her first announcement to Panem had been to hold a televised public execution of the one responsible for the death of President Snow in District 12. The date for the airtime has still been undecided.

Katniss was sitting in the kitchen of the Mellark/Everdeen home and waiting desperately for more information. Madge was sitting next to her, as she had been for the past few weeks, just to keep her company as Katniss fretted over her mother's fate. Katniss was also currently extremely wary of President Coin's motives and intentions. She hadn't heard much from her and was unsure if this was a good or bad thing.

As they sat, Prim walked in carrying a tray with some tea on it. "Katniss, are you thirsty?" she asked, offering her a cup. "There's one here for Madge too."

Madge smiled at Prim but shook her head gently. Katniss, however, smiled at her sister as well and nodded, taking the cup. "Thanks, Prim. Why don't you sit down? Relax."

"It's boring just sitting around though," Prim huffed, putting the tray down on the table. "I kind of liked living in Haymitch's house. At least his and Effie's fights were funny to watch."

Madge smiled slightly at Prim and looked at Katniss. "Katniss and I can pretend to argue if it entertains you. 'Katniss, you hussy, how dare you take the last cookie?'"

Katniss looked at Madge blankly and just sipped her tea.

Prim paused before laughing, though mostly at Madge's failed attempt. "Well, that was amusing..."

Madge's cheeks turned pink and she looked down, taking one of the teas and sipping it quietly. Katniss smiled and looked at Prim. "Wouldn't you rather be bored than go through some of the other stuff we have in the past month?"

"Well... yeah, of course I would. But at least there was something funny going on or Venia, Flavius, and Octavia would talk to me while everyone else was busy. But with them and Effie still at Haymitch's, it's very quiet here..."

Katniss set her cup down and stood up. "Well, come on, then, Prim, let's go visit Haymitch."

She blinked and looked up at her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound like I was complaining too much..."

She just smiled and ruffled Prim's hair. "You're not. I'm not exactly entertained either."

Prim made a face at Katniss as she tried to fix her hair a little. The effects of hanging out with the stylists definitely were starting to show as she got her hair back to near perfectly straight with her fingers. "While you were gone, Rory and Vick used to come over a lot too, you know. But they haven't visited and are always busy now when I go over..." she began to explain as they walked, sounding disappointed.

Katniss frowned a little. "Busy? Why are they so busy?"

"They always have some different, odd excuse it seems. Last time, Vick had to help his mom find new customers to wash laundry and Rory said he had to go sell something. It was weird."

She furrowed her eyebrows and stopped. "That doesn't sound right, Prim. Can you... go to Haymitch's by yourself? I need to speak with Gale."

Prim looked back at Katniss, but nodded. "You don't think something bad is happening, do you...?" she asked, a little worried.

"I'm not sure... I'll tell you when I come back, okay, Prim? Don't worry. I'm sure they're okay."

Prim just nodded slightly at her before walking towards Haymitch's house. Katniss watched and waited for her to enter the house before turning and walking towards Gale's.

* * *

><p>After she knocked, the door swung open. This time the youngest and only girl child, Posy, answered the door. The four year old blinked and looked up at Katniss as she clung to the doorknob, almost like she was trying to swing from it. "Hiyo Ka'niss..." she shyly answered as she started towards Katniss's feet. She was a sweet, little, shy girl, but her clothing looked a little more baggy then usual.<p>

Katniss knelt down in front of the little girl and gave her a small hug before pulling back, setting her hands on her slight shoulders. "Hi there, Posy. I was wondering if your big brother Gale was home."

Posy looked up at Katniss finally after the hug before nodding and shooting her gaze back down at her feet. She turned and ran into the house, leaving the door open behind her for Katniss to follow. Katniss stood up and followed Posy into the Hawthorne house, shutting the door quietly behind her.

First, Posy ran into the kitchen before turning and running out, in the opposite direction and down a short hall towards Gale and Rory's room. Not saying anything, she stood at the door-frame of Gale, Rory, and Vick's door-less bedroom and just stood there. This was her non-verbal way of telling Katniss he was in the room.

Katniss smiled and walked over to Posy. She ruffled her hair in way of thanks and poked her head to see into Gale's room. Inside, Gale had a dresser drawer open and was going through clothing, throwing a few things on the bed, not noticing her. Gale himself , just like Posy, was also looking thinner in his clothing but much more significantly. Over the past month, he had actually not seen Katniss since his confession, which he had blamed on work.

Chewing on her bottom lip, Katniss leaned against the door-frame. She cleared her throat quietly. "Gale."

Gale nearly jumped out of his skin, not expecting Katniss to be there. He dropped the clothes in his hands and looked over to her. "K-Katniss! What are you doing here?"

She raised her eyebrows in amusement over Gale's reaction. "I was talking to Prim and I just... wanted to see how you were."

Gale sighed before picking up the clothing he dropped and stuffing it back into the dresser. He rubbed his eyes a little before shutting the drawer. "Oh. Sorry about that, I've been really tired after work lately..."

From behind Katniss, Posy just watched but tilted her head slightly in confusion. While she didn't say a word, she did emit a small "hm?" sound which was indication enough that she had no idea what he was talking about. Katniss glanced at Posy and then back at Gale, raising her eyebrows. "What happened, Gale?"

Gale shot Posy a dangerous, warning stare. The little girl, catching on to his look, turned and ran towards her and her mother's room.

"Nothing happened."

"Gale, I talked to Prim. She was upset that they never visit her anymore, she said Rory and Vick kept having weird excuses. So, what is it? I can come to you with my problems, but you can't do the same with me?"

Gale scratched the back of his head before walking over and sitting on his bed. "It's not that. How am I supposed to bother you with this when you and Prim are going through so much with your mom? And all those interrogations you have all been going through, there hasn't been time."

Katniss paused before walking over and sitting next to him. "There's been time. You said you were so busy with work... but that's not it, is it?"

"I guess I can't lie to you," he said, dropping his gaze to his feet. "The mines haven't been preventing me from seeing you because... I don't work there anymore."

She furrowed her eyebrows, feeling happiness rise inside her, regardless of the fact that he was so distraught over this. "You were fired?"

He nodded before putting his elbows on his knees and hiding his hands in his hair. "I've been trying to sell some things here and there and try to do odd end errands for people around the District but it's not enough."

She frowned and set her hand on his bicep. "Gale. I know it's tough. We've both been there, but now... you know that I can help you. I know you don't want to accept it, but please... look at you. Look at Posy, she's so skinny."

"I know, I know, but I just... I couldn't ask for that. I couldn't tell you, I couldn't..."

She paused and leaned forward, kissing his temple gently. "It's not asking. I'm giving it to you."

"I... Okay," Gale finally gave in, which killed him inside to cave on this issue. "If it was just me, I wouldn't take it, you know that. But Posy, Rory, and Vick... Rory was considering putting in tessarae. I just can't let him do that," Gale rationalized, more so with himself, but also it helped to let these things out to Katniss.

She smiled sympathetically and nodded. "I know, I told the same thing to Prim. And he shouldn't have to. I'll help you and your family in any way I can, you know that. You should have told me."

Finally, Gale lifted his head up and looked at Katniss. He reached both his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "Alright. I'll tell you everything from now on."

She hugged him back and set her cheek on his shoulder. "You better. I don't like hearing things from my little sister."

"Alright. Then I have something else to tell you."

"What's that?"

He just continued to hold her. "I promise I'll save your mother."

She paused and pulled back enough to look at his face. "What?"

He looked down at her, a look of determination now on his previously stressed face. "You heard me. You're saving my family, I have to do the same for you."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Gale, no. You can't promise something like that. It's impossible."

"And why not?"

"It's not the same as me helping your family not starve. If _you're_ planning it, it's probably going to be dangerous." She let go of him.

"Fine. Then pretend I didn't say anything."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "But you did say something! I don't want anything to happen to you. I can figure... something out."

"Have you yet?"

"Well... no."

Gale got up slowly before looking to Katniss. "Katniss, how long are we supposed to jus-" Before he could finish, however, an alarm went off throughout the District, signifying a mandatory broadcast. Gale listened for a moment before looking back at Katniss with a sigh. "Katniss, can you get Posy? I'll put on the TV."

Katniss froze at the alarm but then nodded her head at Gale and got up. She walked off to find Posy. Posy stood in the living room, staring blankly out the window as the alarm sounded.

Katniss walked up behind Posy and touched her gently on the shoulder. "Hey, Posy, we need to watch the television now, okay?"

Posy tore her gaze away from the window and nodded back at Katniss. "'Kay, Ka'niss," she said before holding her arms out, not feeling like walking back to Gale's room.

"Alright, princess." Katniss smiled at Posy gently before kneeling down and hoisting her up into her arms. She carried her back into Gale's room.

Gale had gotten the television to work as best it could by the time they both got in. On the fuzzy screen, the Panem government's seal was pictured before it began to fade away.

Posy hopped down from Katniss's arms once in the room and immediately climbed onto Gale's lap, curling up against her oldest brother. He hugged her back as she hid her face in his shoulder. It was a habit she had began with every broadcast after she watched her first and the 73rd Hunger Games a little over a year ago. Afraid of the gore, Posy would hide her face during broadcasts until Gale could see for her if it was safe to watch or not.

Katniss walked over and sat next to Gale and Posy, chewing on her thumb nail quietly and intently watching the screen. The symbol faded and suddenly the grey haired President Coin stood behind a podium with ten microphones pointed at her.

"It's safe, Posy," Gale informed the little girl, who slowly turned her head towards the screen.

After another moment of silence, the President leaned forward to the microphone. "This announcement goes out to all of Panem. I have three very special announcements to make.

"The first concerns the traitor currently being held imprisoned for the assassination of President Snow. Iris Everdeen's fate has been decided. In exactly two weeks, a live broadcast execution will be held at District 12 to punish her for acts of treason. The execution shall be by hanging and is mandatory viewing for all citizens of Panem."

Katniss immediately dropped her face into her hands, refusing to look, and made a small sound that sounded like a panicked sob.

"From this point on, the Hunger Games shall no longer be a yearly tournament. Starting with the Quarter Quell, the Games shall from here on out be held twice a year in response to this act of treason."

Katniss's hands dropped from her face in shock. Gale's reaction was similar. His arms slowly slid to his sides as he stared in disbelief at the screen. It was bad enough he had to worry about Rory being reaped once, but now there was double the chance of him entering the Games and Gale was too old to stand in for him at this point.

"The Quarter Quell shall be held in exactly five months and special arrangements have already been made for this very special Games. As many know, each Quarter Quell marks the 25th anniversary of the treason of District 13 and hold different standards compared to the average Games. This year, we have broadened our selection of those who have the potential to be Reaped. As my final and most anticipated announcement for the night, allow me to share those standards we have chosen with you. This Quarter Quell, only past Victors are immune to the Reaping. Panem citizens of all ages from infancy to seniority are eligible for Reaping." President Coin allowed for a moment of silence before finishing up her announcement.

"Good luck and we'll see you at the Reapings in a month."

The screen went black. Katniss continued to just stare blankly at the screen, unable to hold her tears back at this point. She slowly turned her head toward Gale.

"Katniss..." Gale said, staring at the television and avoiding eye contact with her. He didn't know what to say and just held Posy closer to his chest, almost protectively.

"... what... is w-wrong with this woman? I..." She just trailed off, unsure of what to say. She just pressed her hands against her eyes.

Gale looked over at her before putting arm around her again and resting his forehead against hers, holding her and Posy as close as he could, unable to speak. Katniss closed her eyes for a moment before snapping them open to look at Gale. The gravity of the second statement President Coin said suddenly hit her on top of the announcement of her mother and the double Games. Her face showed intense worry for Gale, since he was suddenly back up for the Reaping.

Gale's eyes just remained closed. He stayed still before mumbling the number "46" to himself, deep in thought. Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked to Katniss. "Katniss..."

She continued staring at him for a moment before furrowing her eyebrows. "46?"

"42 to me, one to each of my family members so... 46 times my name is up for reaping..."

She let out a short breath, shutting her eyes before looking back at him again, searchingly. "Gale... I mean... it's not 100% that you'll be called."

"But there's a chance now," he sighed before letting go of her and sitting up straight. "... you should go back to Prim, Katniss. She needs you."

She paused before nodding and standing up. "You're right. I'll... see you soon."

Gale just nodded slowly, not really looking up at her, eyes fixing instead on the blank screen of the television. She touched his cheek gently, hesitating, before stroking Posy's hair and leaving quickly back to Victor's Village.

* * *

><p>AN: No shout outs this time, but a request! Lily and I decided that there is a serious lack of Effie/Haymitch fanart in the world. Sooooo, if you make some and upload it to DA, INSTANT SHOUT OUT! And our blessings, adoration, and probably a mention of your DA as well somewhere. We just want to see some Effie/Haymitch dammit. Or, rather, any scene from this fic would work too. But we are specifically craving some drunk/well mannered fanart. Haha.

Love you guys and keep reading! Don't forget to review!


	11. Conspiracy

Chapter 11. Conspiracy

Katniss hurried from Gale's house straight to Victor's Village. She barged into Haymitch's house without knocking, which was sure to give Effie a heart attack, but she was in a desperate search for Prim.

All gathered in the living room, Effie did squeak at the abrupt entrance but managed to catch herself. Sitting next to her, Prim turned her head up and looked over towards Katniss, tears starting to well up in her eyes. Katniss immediately bit her bottom lip but didn't hesitate. She rushed over and sat on the other side of Prim, wrapping her arms tightly around her. Prim buried her head in Katniss' chest, almost reminiscent to the way Posy had done earlier with Gale. Softly she began to sob as she clung to her sister, gripping her shirt tightly.

Katniss shut her eyes and stroked the back of Prim's head. "It'll... it'll be alright, Prim. We'll figure everything out."

Prim said nothing and just continued to cry, progressively getting louder as she couldn't keep a straight face anymore. Between the news of her mother's execution and the worry that she was now twice as likely to be Reaped, it was too much for someone her age to handle. Katniss swallowed her own tears down and just continued to hold Prim as she cried, stroking her hair softly, constantly mumbling "it's alright". She glanced up at everyone else in the room, growing embarrassed as she saw Haymitch pointedly looking away and Octavia and Flavius gripping tissues, staring at her and her sister.

"Come on, let's leave them be for now," Cinna spoke up, going to Venia, Flavius, and Octavia, and shooing them from the room. Effie pressed her lips together before getting up as Prim paid little attention to anything going on around her and just continued to add to the ever growing damp spot on Katniss's shirt.

Effie frowned at the little girl's sobs before looking to Haymitch. "Can we talk outside?"

Haymitch looked up at Effie, his face extremely solemn, and simply nodded. Effie turned on her heel and walked through the door Katniss had left open. Once outside, she turned towards him. Haymitch followed Effie out of the house and shut the door quietly behind him, his eyes never leaving her. "What?"

She just crossed her arms and shrugged. "I needed to get out of there. What on earth is going on with this? This can't be what it was like when you won..."

His eyes darkened a little and he didn't comment on what it was like when he won. "We were all hoping something would happen to President Snow and, now that it has, we have gotten someone even worse."

"So what do we need to do to stop it?" Gale's voice came from the side of the two as he walked toward the front. His reddened eyes were fixed on Haymitch as he walked. "You were Katniss's mentor, right? The one who came up with the whole idea how to get her out. So you should be able to think of something."

Effie blinked and looked back over at Gale. "Stop it? Stop what, the Games?"

Gale shook his head but kept his eyes up at Haymitch. "The government."

Haymitch shifted his eyes from Effie to Gale. "Gale, I take it? You're right, we need to do something. And we can. But not until the Games begin again."

"The Games?" he blinked. "What do they have to do with anything?"

"They have to do with everything, kid. The only thing we could do here is rebel. We're sure not to get any coverage, it would fail. The one thing the Capitol does best is alienate districts from one another. However, during the Games, major players from each district-the Victors-are together again for an elongated period of time. If Katniss is a mentor, and from what I've heard, she will be, that will cause even more fire, if you will."

Gale nodded at him, but there was still a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. "Katniss's mother is to be hung in two weeks, though. There has to be some way to stop it."

Haymitch rubbed the back of his neck, glancing guiltily back at his front door. "I'm not sure. Unless there's a Peacekeeper who would be willing to 'let' her escape... and even then, we could only hide her."

"I have an idea, but it's what to do after that I'm at a loss for."

Haymitch raised his eyebrows, vaguely interested by the boy now. "What's your idea?"

"I'm going to shoot the rope before they hang her so she drops under the platform then I'm going to light the entire damn thing on fire."

Effie gasped at the sudden revelation. Haymitch merely smirked and set a hand gently on Effie's shoulder. "Fine idea. Not bad at all. I'm sure she would be smart enough to begin running. However, where would we put her?"

"That's what I'm unsure of. And with the cameras all set towards her execution, I can only hope the fire would distract them from showing her."

"If the fire is large enough, it should distract them."

He nodded. "The fence is back up though. We can't get her out of the district that way."

"Unless we can get it down while everyone is occupied with the execution."

"Or you can hijack the train from the reporters," Effie suggested, uncharacteristically.

Haymitch paused and slowly turned to look at Effie, wonderment etched in his features. "Hijack... the train."

Effie paused briefly, thinking maybe she suggested something stupid to gain such a stare from Haymitch. She crossed her arms tighter and shot him back an unphased glance. "Well, what? If it's stupid, just say so. It's rude to stare like that."

He blinked. "No, no, it's not stupid at all. It's brilliant. If you weren't so obsessed with manners and put your mind to schemes like these, you'd be a viable asset to Team Mockingjay."

"And what on earth is Team Mockingjay?"

"Team Katniss. Team Rebellion Against the Capitol. Team... I don't know... let's eat berries and contemplate suicide. You're from the Capitol, keep up."

"Mockingjay sounds perfect," Gale replied, looking back to Haymitch. "Can I leave it up to you two then? Getting her out as I destroy the platform?"

"Absolutely." He replied to Gale without turning his eyes from Effie, still impressed she could brainstorm with them. He paused and then looked at Gale. "I take it we're keeping this from Katniss and Prim."

He nodded. "In fact, make sure they are someplace the camera will see them. Make them noticeable so when I fire my arrow, they aren't blamed. Katniss is known for her aim so she'd be the first they would point fingers to otherwise."

Haymitch nodded and looked at Effie. "You can do that, Effie. You know all the reporters. Make Prim and Katniss stand right in front of them."

Effie nodded. "I'll make sure Cinna takes care of them too for the day to really make them stand out."

"Good. This has to be very delicate. We have to make our presence known at the execution before slyly slipping off in the chaos. And... do you know if the train has any tracking type devices on it?"

"It probably does," Effie groaned. "So whoever takes Mrs. Everdeen and the train has to get the two of them off the train before it stops."

"It's not too much of a problem. Just seeing what kind of time frame we have."

"And also... who's going to get the train and leave with her?"

He paused, glanced at Effie, and shook his head. Then he glanced at Gale and shook it harder. "I guess I can take her. I'm rarely in the spotlight now that Katniss and Peeta are the star-crossed lovers of District 12."

"You can't!" Effie spat, dropping her arms. She pressed her lips together, thinking hard. "If we need another plan like this, you're the mastermind. Besides, with your drunken habits, you'll derail the train."

He scowled at her. "Thanks, Effie."

"It has to be someone else. Someone who will willingly leave and cares enough about her to protect her and stay with her."

"Well..." He trailed off and blinked, looking at Effie. "Peeta's dad?"

"Mr. Mellark?" she blinked, about to question his choice before remembering back with the camera. She paused, caught up in thought again. "You ask, Haymitch."

Haymitch groaned, looking longingly back at his house. "Why do I have to do it? Get Peeta to do ittttt..."

She narrowed her eyes a little. "Okay, then you ask Peeta to go ask his father to abandon his family and home in a possible suicide mission where, regardless of what does actually happen, he'll never see him again and cause great stress to his mother who, judging from her demenor, can be a rather violent and controlling woman."

He paused. "... fine. But I'm only doing this because I could never say no to a beautiful woman."

Her arms crossed again faster then Haymitch could blink as she shot him a glare. "Go. I have some phonecalls to make."

He patted the top of her wig and winked at her before heading over to the Mellark/Everdeen house.

* * *

><p>The morning of the execution, Effie and the stylists had practically broken into the EverdeenMellark household. Effie marched up the stairs to Katniss's room and went to knock at the door. Images of the dead President Snow flashed in her mind again for a brief moment, but she pushed them back and knocked loudly. "Katniss! Katniss, it's time to get up! Cinna and the others are here to get you and Prim ready!"

This time, instead of making Effie wait, she opened the door almost immediately. She was still in her clothes from the day before and her eyes were rimmed with darkness. She forced herself to look at Effie. "Fine, let's get this over with."

Effie was taken aback slightly by the fact Katniss was awake so easily, but said nothing. She just turned and summoned Cinna and his team up the stairs. In not even a minute's time, the crew of beauticians were all in her room and beginning to set up their tools. Venia was the first to speak. "Oh, Katniss, we're going to m-make you so beautiful for today!" she said, trying to force a cheery tone on her voice but failing miserably. Cinna had warned the three of them to try their best to not bring up the execution.

Katniss forced a small smile at her team, but it was hollow. "Thanks, guys." Octavia started to tear up and turned away quickly, making it seem like she was busying herself with her makeup kit.

The rest of the process seemed almost eerily quiet as the three shaved, plucked, primped, and braided until she was all done. The overall appearance was to be based off mourning, yet the crew were instructed to introduce shades of white and gold to contrast the darks and match Katniss's trademark pin. By the time they were done, it was impossible to ignore her, especially with the introduction of small white flowers throughout her braid. Cinna had designed her a knee length white dress with black and golden sashes around her waist and tied into an oversized bow behind her back.

Katniss quietly fastened her pin to the front of her dress and stood up once they were finished. She smiled at them with a hint of sorrow behind her eyes. "Thank you. You three did beautifully."

Octavia let out a wail and quickly left the room while Flavius bowed his head and then quietly followed her. Venia, the last left, just gave Katniss a quick hug before turning to run after the other sobbing stylists to find a corner or somewhere for the three of them to cry. Katniss lowered her eyes after her team left. She slowly stood up and left the room, trying to control the sorrow that threatened to choke her, even while she looked so put together.

Upon seeing his crew leave so suddenly, Cinna shook his head slightly before looking to Katniss in the hallway. He gave her a soft smile as he put a hand on her shoulder. "You look stunning."

She paused for a moment before looking up at him. "Thank you, Cinna. Everything you planned about this outfit is perfect, but I don't feel stunning."

He nodded, understanding what she meant. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a white handkerchief with a replica of her mockingjay printed at one of its corners and handed it to her. "Don't be afraid to react. You're human too."

She took it quietly and shook her head slightly. "Not in front of the cameras. In front of the cameras, I'm just another thing for the Capitol to laugh at."

"Trust me, Katniss. They won't be laughing."

"How can you be so sure?"

He just gave her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder before turning towards the stairs again. At the top of the stairs stood Prim, her hair pulled back into a bun on the top of her head and matching flowers in their hair. However, her flowers were black in contrast with the blonde bun while Katniss's was chosen as white to stand out from her darker hair. Her outfit was identical to Katniss's, though the dress itself was black with white in the sashes to contrast her sister. Her makeup was done in the same style as Katniss's, though you can tell the stylists had slight problems around her eyes due to the fact the eyeliner looked watered down, probably from her crying.

"Portia sent her team to help me out since I knew my crew would have their hands tied. She looks just as beautiful as you do, Katniss."

Katniss looked up at her sister and smiled slightly, holding a hand out to her from the bottom of the stairs. "No, Cinna. She looks more beautiful than me."

Prim walked down slowly before grasping tightly to her older sister's hands. She looked up to Katniss, her eyes starting to water again and tears threatening to fall, but she pushed them back as best she could. "Y-you look great, Katniss..."

She pressed a kiss to Prim's forehead, careful not to smear any makeup. She closed her eyes briefly to stop tears that threatened to fall once more. "You look better, little duck."

"You two better hurry," Cinna warned as he opened the door for them. "Everybody is waiting for you outside."

Katniss sniffled once and tightened her grip on Prim's hand, nodding. She turned around and walked out the door.


	12. Bullet

Chapter 12. Bullet

Beside Katniss and Prim, Effie walked to their left while Peeta stepped alongside Katniss's right. As they ventured ever closer to the crowd outside the platform, Peeta looked to Katniss. Trying to comfort her a little, he reached down and squeezed her hand. As soon as the platform was in sight, Katniss sucked in a small breath. She held onto Peeta's hand tightly and, with her free hand, lifted Cinna's handkerchief to wipe the tears that had begun to course down her cheeks.

Before them stood nearly all the citizens of District 12, circled around the platform which had been raised for the occasion for all to see. Peacekeeper Thread stood next to the handing post, a noose already in place. His beady eyes stared down into the amount of people and it almost looked like he was smiling. Among the crowd, multiple crews of reporters and cameramen littered the area, preparing their equipment to stay trained at the platform.

Behind all of this and at the back of the crowd stood Gale in a grey worn out hoodie, looking a little plumper then he had last Katniss saw him. Haymitch stood toward the front of the crowd grimly with his arms crossed, but off to the side since he hates people. Madge glanced at Peeta, Prim, Katniss, and Effie as they appeared and smiled at Katniss reassuringly. Katniss, however, didn't return the smile and, upon catching sight of Thread's almost smile and all the cameras, turned to look at Peeta, tears making tracks in her carefully applied makeup. "I don't know if... I can do this."

"It's alright, I'll be here with you," Peeta cooed, trying to keep her calm as he hugged her tightly.

Effie watched the two before turning to them. "We're going to go to the front. From there, we'll be too close that the reporters won't be able to interview or question us."

Peeta froze before looking to Effie. "Do we have to be right at the front? I mean..."

Effie, however, ignored him and began to walk towards the location she stated. As she passed Gale, she gave him a silent nod before fixing her eyes forward. Katniss pressed her face against Peeta's shoulder as her hands began to shake, but she followed Effie as instructed. Haymitch silently watched as they cut through. From the distance, Gale watched too, keeping his hands in his front hood pockets. As his eyes scanned the area, he caught sight of Haymitch from the other end of the crowd. Haymitch watched Effie for a moment more before feeling Gale's eyes upon him. He moved his head slowly and caught Gale's eye.

Gale gave him a slight nod before turning his attention fully on the platform. He could see the cameras all turning on, the reporters beginning to speak, and two Peacekeepers beginning to drag up a much thinner and dirty Iris Everdeen. Haymitch turned his sights back on the platform as well. Katniss reached down and held both Peeta and Prim's hands tightly, unable to look away from her mother.

Thread turned towards Iris before picking up a microphone. "Iris Everdeen, on behalf of the Panem Government, you have been found guilty for the following crimes: murder, conspiracy, and treason. For this, you have been sentenced to death by hanging."

Katniss let go of Prim's hand and curled her arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer in order to hide her face when she had to. Prim's eyes just remained fixed towards their mother, tears already rolling down her cheeks. To Peeta's dismay and annoyance, a few of the cameras had put their attention on the two Everdeen sisters. He tried to step in a place to block their view, but Effie pulled him right back where he had been previously. "Stop fidgeting, you're making me nervous," she spat at him.

"And to you," Thread began, looking to the crowd. "Let this be a warning that when you go against our Panem Government, your crimes will not be forgiven."

Katniss's chin automatically raised in defiance at Thread's words even now and she stood up straighter now that some cameras were on her, refusing to show weakness. Thread looked down directly towards her and their eyes locked. Behind him, the two Peacekeepers tightened the noose around Iris's neck and positioned her above the trap door before backing off. When they declared their work finished, Thread's smirk grew wider as he turned around towards the lever.

Away from all the cameras' gazes at this dramatic point, Gale reached under his hoodie and pulled out a black, worn out sheet with holes in it. He opened it up revealing a small bow and a few arrows, all of which had cloth wrapped below the arrowhead. He pulled the cloth over his head to hide his identity, the holes placed conveniently so his sight wasn't blocked.

He pulled the bow up as well as the arrows, immediately lighting all the tips with a small lighter as Thread grasped onto the lever. Haymitch watched Gale out of the corner of his eye, ready to run while still making sure Gale's part of the plan worked, while Katniss's gaze remained firmly on her mother and Peacekeeper Thread.

Thread pulled the lever down as Gale raised his bow, letting his flaming arrow fly. The square on the platform that Iris stood on dropped, her body following after as she braced herself, expecting a sudden pull around her neck. Instead, she was shocked to feel her legs crash to the ground under the stage.

Above, Gale's arrow had pierced the rope and landed on the base of the platform. It already began to catch the wooden ground aflame before Thread could process what exactly had happened. He attempted to shout something to the other two Peacekeepers but two more arrows flew, one landing inches from his head on the lever he had pulled awhile the other hit the stock Peeta had been sentenced to be trapped in.

Haymitch waited a few seconds for everyone to be preoccupied before ducking and running over to the platform. He reached under it and grabbed Iris's hand before taking off in the opposite direction. Katniss saw the arrows and widened her eyes, immediately searching the crowd for Gale. Before she could get too much of a look though, Effie stepped in front of Katniss, Prim, and Peeta before starting to push them back. She began her little panic attack, shouting how they had to get back and away from the flames, though she looked back over her shoulder at where Haymitch had been as a final fire arrow flew at the platform, singing the leg of Thread's pants.

Katniss scowled at Effie, but began backing away from the platform since Prim was with her. She dragged Prim back away from the crowd. Haymitch ducked low and ran back toward the train with Iris. Having thrown the noose from her neck, Iris followed closely behind Haymitch. "Thank you," she whispered at him as they closed in on the train ahead.

Outside the door to the tram, a few unconscious bodies scattered around the ground, some bleeding slightly from the head with rocks scattered about. At the doorway, Mr. Mellark reached out his hand towards them. "Hurry up!"

Haymitch ran the last few yards toward the train and tugged Iris in front of him. He stopped and pushed her slightly toward Mr. Mellark. Without a question or looking back, she quickly dove onto the train. Mr. Mellark pulled her up before looking back at Haymitch. "I got her from here, go!"

Haymitch nodded, clutching his chest from lack of air. "Quickly!" Then he turned and ran/stumbled back toward the site of the would-have-been execution. As he stumbled away, the doors closed and locked firmly behind his back. Before he was halfway to the burning platform, the train had began it's travel away from District 12.

* * *

><p>Back in the chaos of the central plaza, Gale clenched his bow tightly under his makeshift cape, against his chest. He tried to disappear into the crowd, but found his body suddenly thrown backwards. He fell to the ground, a sharp pain in his neck. Someone had found the noose Mrs. Everdeen had abandoned and now lassoed it around Gale's neck.<p>

Gale could only strain his neck back enough to catch the anger on the singed haired, burnt clothed Peacekeeper Thread before he yanked on the rope so hard, Gale's underfed body flew back more towards him, like a rag doll. Gale nearly gagged at the force, but was slightly thankful for the sheet, otherwise he knew his flesh would be brush burned to the point that the pain would be unbearable. Thread reached down, curling his fingers around the hole for Gale's eyes on the sheet and ripped it until Gale's entire face was visible.

"I had a feeling it would be you," he spat, pulling the noose even tighter around his neck. "I promised a hanging tonight, and God dammit, there will be one! Whether I have to string you up to a tree or let you burn with the rest of the platform, I will not be made a fool again!"

Katniss continued to crane her neck around Effie, holding on tightly to Prim. Her eyes spotted a struggle in the panicked crowd and she saw Thread and Gale. Her arm dropped from around Prim and she started to run toward them.

"Katniss, stop!" Effie shouted towards her before grabbing the dark haired girl around the waist in an attempt to hold her back.

Katniss screamed and struggled against Effie's grip fiercely. "Gale!"

Haymitch suddenly came up behind Thread. He grabbed him by the back of his shirt and spun him around so they were standing face to face with Gale between them. His eyes were dark with fury and he narrowed them dangerously. "I would suggest you let the boy go, Thread, before this gets bad for you."

Thread's beady eyes narrowed right back at him. "Do you really think an old, worn out drunk like yourself can do anything to stop me?" he laughed as he went to push Haymitch hard in the shoulder.

Haymitch caught Thread's hand and twisted it backward. "I'm not as worn out as you might think. If you don't release him, I'm afraid you'll find out just how agile I can be."

Thread winced and grit his teeth towards Haymitch. "You... you'll all be punished for this... This entire District will be punished for your actions!" he threatened before dropping Gale's noose. However, his hand immediately went to his pants pocket and pulled out a small handgun, pointing it at Haymitch. "Release my arm."

Haymitch's eyes widened a fraction as he grabbed Gale and pushed him out of the way, dropping Thread's arm. The fact that Haymitch made this move before releasing him only furthered Thread's anger and brought his finger closer to the trigger. "None shall go unpunished," he warned before aiming towards Haymitch's chest. Just as he pulled the trigger, Peeta flew from the crowd, tackling Thread to the ground.

Just as Peeta tackled Thread, the gun went off. The shot echoed through the District as the bullet connected with Haymitch. He stumbled backward, clutching the wound and hitting the ground hard.

From the distance, Effie's hands slipped off of Katniss as she bolted towards the scene. "HAYMITCH!" she screamed out.


	13. Bang

A/N: TONS OF DRAMA AND ACTION GOING ON. Personally, I love it this way. I really wanted an action filled story and so far this one has no failed me. I hope it does the same for you. Though for those of you who want more fluff, fear not! Lily and I like to balance our stories evenly. Your romance is coming.

* * *

><p>Chapter 13. Bang<p>

By the time Effie had reached the scene, Peeta had muscled the gun out from Thread's hand. Bringing the gun up, he clobbered him over the head with it until Thread laid unconscious, blood dripping from his head.

Effie dropped down to her knees before looking over Haymitch with widened eyes, trying to see where the bullet hit. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god..."

Katniss ran after Effie as soon as she let go of her and grabbed Gale's face in her hands, checking him for any damage before looking back towards Haymitch and Effie, concerned. Haymitch continued gripping his left shoulder and he laughed shakily, his face gray. "Oh, Effie, I... knew you cared."

"Stop messing around, you just got shot!" she screamed at him, her entire body shaking.

"Just in the shoulder." He croaked, opening one eye at her before glancing at Peeta. "Thanks, Peeta."

Peeta put the gun in his pocket before turning to Haymitch. "You need to get that checked out, you can still get blood poisoning or bleed out."

"Yeah, yeah..." He gritted his teeth and sat up, his face going paler. "I'll... just pour some liquor... on it."

"Don't move so suddenly!" she scolded as she got up and grabbed his arm to attempt to help, though she wasn't exactly what you would call strong. Haymitch accept Effie's limited help and slowly staggered up to his feet, swaying slightly. He glared weakly at Thread motionless on the ground.

"That... little bastard."

Effie made a little strained face as she tried to help hold him up before looking to Katniss. "Is Gale alright?"

Gale looked back over to Katniss weakly from Effie and Haymitch before looking to his sheet. Carefully he pulled it up over his head along with the noose, revealing a ring of bruises around his neck. He threw the cloth and rope aside, breathing heavily. Katniss swallowed hard, looking at the bruises, holding his face carefully. She stared at him, eyes moist, while answering Effie. "No. Jesus, Gale..."

"I had to keep my promise," he forced out, though his voice was a little hoarse.

She shook her head once before leaning in and pressing her lips briefly against his, forgetting they were right in the middle of the square, in front of Peeta and in front of everyone else who was still there. The kiss only lasted a moment before she pulled back. "You're so stupid. And don't talk."

Gale's eyebrows shot up slightly as he just nodded, a slow smile forming across his mouth.

Peeta stared at the two for a brief moment before quickly looking around, not wanting Katniss to catch him staring. "Let's get back to Haymitch's so the man can stop bleeding out."

Katniss stared at Gale for a few more seconds before blushing and letting go of his face, remembering now where she was exactly. She went over to Haymitch's other side to help Effie. Gale got up, a little shaky at first, but managed his own. In the background, standing as members of District 12 ran all around her, Prim had stood and just stared at the entire scene before slowly running towards Katniss and the group. She just stuck close to her older sister, uncertain what exactly she should be doing in this situation, and remained silent.

As the group walked away from the mostly now deserted plaza, Thread's head slowly began to rise from the ground. His eyes narrowed as they shot at Gale.

"D-don't worry, Mr. Hawthorne," he began, causing Gale to stop dead in his tracks, looking back over his shoulder. "The food from your extra 60 submissions o-of tesserae will arrive at your f-family's door soon."

The smirk on his face never faltered.

* * *

><p>After about an hour, everybody had calmed down and were once again congregated at Haymitch's house. Being the only and best source of free medical treatment, Prim had volunteered to tend to Haymitch's shoulder. However, she had suggested that Effie help her out instead, telling Katniss to thank Gale for the two of them properly while she worked. Haymitch was just leaning his head against the arm of the couch, constantly asking for some "liquor, for God's sake". Katniss had nodded and walked off to find Gale.<p>

Outside, Gale was sitting on the front stoop of the home. His neck has been wrapped with some sort of ointment for the bruises, but all he really could do was let it heal on its own. He just sat and watched the smoke rising from the plaza. Katniss stepped out of Haymitch's house and paused. She shut the door and sat down next to Gale, quietly taking a few flowers out of her hair. She cleared her throat and spoke quietly. "Thank you, Gale. From me... and Prim."

"You don't need to thank me," he said simply, his eyes never leaving the smoke. "If anything, I should thank you."

She blinked, dropping her hands to her lap. "Thank me? Why?"

"All these years, I talked about a rebellion. About how we need to act, but I never did anything myself. Now, I did it. I finally did something and made a difference."

"But... that was you. Not me. I didn't do anything but sit in the crowd and look stupid."

"If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have done anything. You don't realize what effect you can have on people, Katniss. Enough so to make me, Haymitch, Mr. Mellark, and even someone like Effie come together to stand up against the oppression."

She paused and slowly looked at him. "Come together? You guys planned this with Peeta's DAD and Effie but couldn't be bothered to let me in on it? While I sat there, on the verge of a panic attack, thinking of Prim and how I would have to comfort her later after our mother was KILLED?"

"We couldn't let you know. If we did, and got caught, you would be dragged into it. You need to stay safe."

She let out a shaky breath and stood up. "This is low even for you, Gale. I thought you understood I can take care of myself but you're just like everyone else. _I_ survived the Games and I alone kept Peeta alive while doing so, but it's like it doesn't matter what I do. I'm still going to be treated like a helpless little girl from the Seam, which is who I _never_ have been, so. I take that kiss back, you don't deserve it."

Gale tore his gaze from the smoke, but instead stood up. "Alright, fine. Do you want me to go out and find your mother to face another potential hanging sentence then too? Have me take back everything I did for you?" He seemed cold, almost emotionless now as he still refused to look at her.

She stomped her foot and crossed her arms. "I said thank you for that. It's just cold and terrible that you would make me go through that! That all of you would!"

"I told you that I was going to save your mother. It's your fault that you didn't have faith in me."

She narrowed her eyes. "You could have told me your plan. I was sitting there, thinking you hadn't thought of anything since you hadn't confided in me. If one of your family members was going to be killed and I had a plan, you can be damn sure I'd tell you."

He let out a soft laugh as from the corner of his eye, he saw the last streams of smoke disperse into the night sky. "Well, for my sake, I hope you do."

She paused, her arms dropping after a moment. She faltered, unsure. "What does that mean?"

Finally, he turned to look at her. His eyes were slightly blood shot and red and his skin paler, almost fearful like. Between the look in his eyes and the bandages around his neck, it was easily the most pathetic the boy has ever felt and looked in his life. He only allowed her to absorb this for a moment before turning away again. "I'm going to be Reaped for the Hunger Games."

She furrowed her eyebrows and slowly took his hand, tugging on it gently. "Gale, you don't know that."

"No one else heard him, but I did..." he whispered. "Thread, he's signing me in for an extra 60 tesserae. With how the Quarter Quell works, and now with my name in there over one hundred times, it's bound to happen. I wouldn't be surprised if Thread took out every other name in District 12 other than mine at this point."

Katniss paused, jaw hanging open for a moment, before she shut her mouth determindedly. "He can't do that! Surely there's... regulations or... or something."

"He can do whatever he wants," Gale flatly answered, squeezing her hand a little more. "But it doesn't matter to me. I'll go and I'll put an end to everything."

She lowered her eyes and nodded slightly, barely concealing a small sniffle. "I'll be there when you're Reaped, Gale. I'll... be your mentor, Peeta can take care of the other one, and I promise I'll do everything I can the entire time."

"I knew you would be," he smiled a little, looking down at her again. "Are you still mad at me?"

She shook her head, looking at the ground. "No, you know I can't be mad at you now. I almost think you did it on purpose."

He laughed slightly and shrugged, but said nothing. Gale allowed for another moment of awkward silence as he thought quickly to himself, deciding what to say next. With a small sigh, he decided it would be best to stop holding information from her. "There is... one other thing Haymitch and I talked about."

She blinked and looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "Am I allowed to hear it?"

"You'd probably punch me in the neck if I didn't tell you everything at this point."

She allowed a small smile and nodded. "At least you're learning."

"Learning? How long have I known you now, Katniss? Did you really think I didn't expect you to be mad at me for not telling you?" He looked back at her before moving so he was directly before her. Reaching down, he took her other hand in his and leaned in a little as to be quiet in case other ears were upon them. "When I'm Reaped, Haymitch has a plan on what to do about the Capitol."

She paused and looked directly into his eyes, searchingly, before lowering her voice as well. "A rebellion? Are there any specifics yet?"

"I'd need to talk to Haymitch more about it, we were more focused on getting your mother freed since that was a more pressing matter at the time. But he said the Hunger Games were going to be a large part of it."

She nodded slightly. "That's understandable. And we can talk to him when he's better, since I'm not sure if he'll be invited to mentor this year."

"Alright, for now you should go see Madge. After the ruckus I caused earlier, she might be a little freaked out by the whole thing. I'm going to see how Haymitch is doing."

"Alright, I guess I'll go ensure her that all is well." She smiled slightly and let go of Gale's hands, nodding. Gale put a hand on the top of her head and ruffled her hair up slightly before leaning in and kissing her forehead quickly.

"I'll talk to you later, Catnip."

She rolled her eyes slightly, but still smiled. "Later, Gale."

She walked down the steps and headed toward Madge's house. En route to her friend's home, her own house in Victor's Village was completely darkened with the exception of one room. The bedroom that had been claimed by Mr. and Mrs. Mellark was lit up brightly on the second floor. During the commotion, Mrs. Mellark must had run back to the house by herself. Moments after they had arrived back at Haymitch's, Peeta had mentioned he wanted to run to the house for something but never returned. Everybody was too preoccupied with Haymitch to notice.

The closer Katniss got, the clearer the sounds of screams could be heard from the inside. They weren't screams of terror or pain, but angry screams much like those when Peeta had burnt the bread those years ago. Katniss slowed down when she reached her house and paused for a moment. She let out a slow breath and, instead of heading to Madge's, went straight up to the door and walked in. As she stepped in the door, the last thing she heard was Peeta screaming something back at his mother before a loud, eardrum shattering bang echoed through the house. The second gunshot to fire today.


	14. Broken

Chapter 14. Broken

Katniss's breath caught in her throat and she ran straight up the stairs. She burst into the room that Mr. and Mrs. Mellark had shared. Inside stood Peeta, arms covered in scratch marks and his right eye beginning to swell. He was in a trance-like state of shock as he stood over his mother, who laid on the ground with blood escaping the shot wound in her forehead. Between her and Peeta laid the gun he had taken from Peacekeeper Thread.

Katniss gasped, her eyes shooting from Peeta to his mother prone on the floor. She put a hand over her mouth. "Peeta, what have you done?"

Peeta at this point couldn't even speak coherant sentences. Slowly he backed up until his back was up against the wall and slid down it to a sit, his eyes starting to gloss over.

"I-I didn't... she was... Dad..."

She watched him and slowly lowered her hand. She walked over to him and kneeled in front of him, touching his bruised eye gently. "Peeta... it's okay. It's not your fault. Look at your face..."

He shook his head furiously before putting his face in his hands. She gripped his shoulders tightly, concerned. "Come on, Peeta. Come on, you need to get out of this room."

"H-he left us... Just a note..." Peeta murmured, refusing to move or look at her. "S-she couldn't... she couldn't... I c-can't leave her..." He wasn't even making sense anymore.

Katniss paused for a brief second before wrapping her arms around him. "Peeta... please..."

Peeta winced at the sudden contact and almost went to push her away. Instead though, he gripped her shoulders tightly and buried his face in her shoulder, a few stray tears starting to fall from his cheeks. His father was gone and his mother was dead. He never felt so useless, alone, and unstable before. Katniss stroked his hair softly and kissed his temple. "It's okay, Peeta, I'm here... we'll just sit here for a while, okay? Until you're ready."

Peeta just nodded slowly as he continued to cling to her, almost like a lost child, which was exactly how he felt. "I-I can't believe she..."

Katniss continued to stroke his hair and rock him gently, like she had done with Prim after the news about their mother. "I know. Just try to calm down. Focus on my voice. I'm here, Peeta, and everything's going to be okay."

Peeta just nodded and remained quiet, trying to take everything in and find a way to deal with it. The fact that Katniss was here did comfort him a great deal, but the impact of everything was still crushing him.  
>After some time - a half hour, maybe full hour - Peeta slowly lifted his head from Katniss's shoulder and stared up at her. "I-I... need to get out of this room..."<p>

Katniss looked down at him and nodded, setting her hands gently on his shoulders before standing up. "Alright. Let's go..."

Peeta pushed his back against the wall to try and hoist himself up. Once at a stand, he took a very wobbly step forward and nearly fell over. He was still too shaken to be moving on his own, but he knew he needed to get out. To get away from his mother. To wake up from this nightmare to his mom and dad bickering back at the bakery about how the pie crusts are too thick.

Katniss moved forward quickly and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Peeta, just lean on me, okay? We need to get to Haymitch's to... figure out what to do." She was avoiding looking in the direction where Peeta's mother was still laying.

He looked up at her, nodding as he tried to straighten up. Suddenly, he reached down and gripped her hand. "Please don't leave me too."

She furrowed her eyebrows and looked at him for a moment before gently kissing his forehead. "Peeta... I'm not going to."

"Y-You promise...?"

"I promise, Peeta. Why would you even say something like that?"

"I just... it doesn't seem I have many people left..."

She squeezed his hand tightly. "We stuck together through the Games and we'll stick together now. Forever, okay?"

"...forever?" he asked, needing reassurance. "This i-isn't... another act?"

She frowned, unsure if he really thought that lowly of her. "There's no one to act for here, Peeta."

He nodded as he forced out a small, empty smile. "Forever... t-thanks, Katniss..."

She smiled at him reassuringly and tightened her arm around his waist before leading him from the room. Peeta followed, still a little zombie-like. However, he seemed the tiniest bit better which was still a plus, all things considered. He lifted his head slightly as he followed. "Where are we going?"

Katniss helped him out of the house and smoothed his hair back from his face a little. "Haymitch's."

"Why? Can't we just stay here... in case she... wakes..."

She closed her eyes briefly and shook her head, forcing a smile. "Peeta... she... I need to speak with Effie and Haymitch. And I'm not leaving you. We'll come back, okay?"

"... okay," he muttered, dropping his head again. Katniss held him close, feeling her heart break further. She pressed her mouth against his temple again, and walked into Haymitch's house.

Inside, the only person in the living room was Prim. Passing through, she was carrying a bucket of water with a blood stained rag inside of it which she had been using to clean Haymitch's wound. When the door opened, she stopped, looked over, and smiled. "Welcome back, Katniss. Peeta."

Katniss smiled, slightly strained, at Prim. "Hi, Prim. Where are Haymitch and Effie?"

"Haymitch's room. He's still resting, I just finished putting bandages on him. Effie and Gale are talking to him."

She nodded a little. "If you're finished, do you think you could... sit down here with Peeta while I talk with them?"

Prim blinked, looking at Peeta then back at Katniss. "Is everything okay?"

She smiled reassuringly at both Peeta and Prim, sitting Peeta down in a chair. "Of course."

Prim nodded before putting the bucket down and sitting by Peeta. "Okay. Knock before you go in though, they said it was private."

She nodded a little and rubbed Peeta's shoulder gently before heading upstairs. She stopped outside Haymitch's door and knocked.

"We're almost done, Prim," Effie called back towards the door.

"It's Katniss."

There was a quiet pause before the door opened, but Effie didn't answer. Gale stood on the other side, holding the door open for her. "Hey, how was Madge?"

She shook her head quickly, stepping in. "I didn't see Madge. I saw Peeta and this is an emergency."

"Emergency? Dear Lord, what on earth happened now?" Effie groaned from her chair she was sitting at next to Haymitch's bed.

Haymitch sat up slightly in his bed to look at Katniss while she searched for the words before sighing. "He's killed his mother."

There was a very long and awkward pause as everybody just stared at her in disbelief. Leave it to Effie Trinket to be the first to speak. "WHAT? What do you mean 'killed his mother'? How? Why?"

"She..." Katniss sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Well, you know she was a bit on the angry side. I've heard it before... her hitting him. She freaked out when she found out Mr. Mellark was gone and... Peeta shot her in the head. I guess he took Thread's gun and... I didn't know what to do."

Haymitch continued staring at her for a long time before falling back on his pillows, groaning.

"Where is he now?" Gale asked, looking like he was ready to rush out and find him.

"Downstairs with Prim. He wanted to stay... with her. He still thinks she's going to wake up." She bit her bottom lip and looked up at him. Gale froze on the spot before staring at Katniss with strong disbelief.

"Peeta... just murdered his mother... and you think it's a good idea to leave him alone with Prim?"

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Why is it a bad idea to leave him with Prim? I couldn't bring him up here, he can't listen to this."

"He just murdered somebody, Katniss. His mother, none the less! He's obviously not mentally stable!"

She frowned. "He's fine! I sat with him for almost an hour and he's _fine. _Don't call him mentally unstable."

"Katniss, you said it himself. He _murdered his mother._ What if Prim says the wrong thing to him that sets him off again? How can you be calm about this?"

She just stood there a moment, her face going from indignant at Gale to slowly horrified as tears sprung to her eyes. _Oh god, what is wrong with me? _She turned and ran back down the stairs, unsure why she didn't even think twice before leaving her sister with Peeta. Close on her heels, Gale ran down after her, leaving behind a very concerned and slightly freaked out Effie to tend to the wounded Haymitch.

Haymitch sighed. "Everything always has to happen in the same day, doesn't it?"

Katniss ran into the living room and looked at Peeta and Prim. Much to Katniss and Gale's relief, Prim was completely fine. In fact, she had somehow moved Peeta from the chair to sitting next to her on the couch. Prim had also introduced Buttercup to the conversation, who was curled up on Prim's lap but had his head resting on Peeta's leg, as she talked about how Buttercup came into the family. She stopped when she saw Katniss and smiled at her and Gale. "Katniss! You're done talking to Haymitch and Effie already?"

Katniss panted slightly, watching them for a second, before turning and glaring at Gale. Gale stared at the two before turning back to the glaring huntress beside him. "What?"

She put her hands on her hips. "You made me panic for no reason!"

"You act like I knew for certain! I was only concerned, it's obvious I wouldn't have known everything would be okay!"

"I'm just saying you said..." She trailed off, glancing at Peeta and Prim. She was afraid Peeta was too fragile to hear much of anything right now, so she took Gale's sleeve and headed back upstairs. Gale let out a heavy sigh before following her back to the room. Upon re-entry, Effie looked at the two.  
>"Is Prim okay? Even if she isn't, just tell me yes otherwise I'm going to hop over that fence and run myself back to the Capitol to get away from all this chaos."<p>

Katniss sighed and glared at Gale again before looking back at Effie. "She's fine, Gale's just being paranoid. Now, what am I supposed to do with the dead body in my house?"

"We can call Darius. Tell him she killed herself after finding out her husband helped the 'traitor' escape," Gale suggested, making the quotation symbols with his fingers over the word traitor.

Katniss paused and then looked at him. "I hadn't thought of that. It does look kind of self inflicted."

"Are you sure it wasn't?" Effie asked, a little hopeful.

"I'm pretty sure it wasn't. Peeta pretty much told me..." She sighed and rubbed her eyes. "I guess I'll go find Darius."

Gale nodded towards her. Effie however, crossed her arms. "Is there anything else while we're all here? Anyone else arrested, died, or anything of that sort? Now would be the best time, I can't get any more frenzied then I am now."

Katniss narrowed her eyes a bit before Haymitch set his hand on Effie's arm. "It's been a hard day. Katniss, just get your house situation settled and we can all try to relax. Right, Effie?"

Effie just huffed, saying nothing more. Katniss just nodded and walked back downstairs. Haymitch looked at Effie pointedly. "Now, was that so hard?"

"This is all so crazy," she muttered, pushing his hand off her arm.

He set his hand flat on the bed and frowned. "It would be less crazy if the littlest Everdeen would bring me my damn white liquor."

"That only helps your case," she spat, looking at him. "Which, in the long term, is going to _kill you_. Maybe that's why the little medic is refusing to give you any."

Haymitch glared at her. "Yeah, well, stress is going to kill you, so we're in the same boat, Trinket."

Effie bit her bottom lip before speaking without much thought behind it. "Well, perhaps I'd be less stressed if I didn't have to juggle responsibility over two of the most unexpectantly difficult Victors in Hunger Games history and an irresponsible, careless drunk I wouldn't be so stressed."

Haymitch looked at her for a second before setting his head back down on his pillow. "Well, if that's how you feel, how about you leave me alone? Go brush your hair or something, you self-centered, Capitol-bred princess."

Effie's eyes flared suddenly at his words before standing up to leave. "Better that then to drown my sorrows uncontrollably through alcohol! At least I try to actually do something!"

Haymitch sat up and looked at her through narrowed eyes, ignoring the pain that shot up his left side. "Yeah, well, I'd rather be a 'drunk' than be a selfish prude who thinks she's above everyone else!"

"SELFISH? You may be older then me, but I never thought you were so senile! My entire career is dedicated to Katniss and Peeta now and I even helped with this entire Iris ordeal! But _no, _apparently I'm self-centered and selfish? Lay down before you hurt yourself and keep crying over the fact that your liver isn't dying fast enough!"

He scowled. "Oh, I know your job is so hard! Helping take children and teach them how to be well-mannered before THEY DIE."

"At least I manage to successfully accomplish my job! Unlike yours which you have the option to choose if you _feel_ like trusting in the child entrusted to you, I don't have that luxury! I have to slave over every little detail right down to what their diets should consist of! I have to fully immerse myself in these children, while you just sit back and could not care any less!"

"I couldn't care less? Am I not the one who just got SHOT protecting someone very important to Katniss? Effie, you're a rookie. You haven't had to see kid after kid come through here and die. It doesn't matter to you. You'll _never _understand it because you're a Capitol pawn. You've never had it like Katniss or Prim or Gale or myself and you never will. You give food to these kids who have never tasted anything like the gourmet food you're shoving down their throats and then you _judge _them for not having proper table manners. You're disgusting. You can try to pretend to care, but we all know you'd rather be in the Capitol, going to fancy parties that celebrate the deaths of innocent children, instead of sitting here, in peasant District 12."

Effie couldn't take it anymore. Injured or otherwise, she didn't care what condition Haymitch was in. She promptly took a step forward before bringing her hand up and smacking him with as much strength as she could muster across the face.

Haymitch's head snapped to the side. He chuckled before wiping a small amount of blood from his lip. "If you can't handle the truth, don't start things you can't finish, Effie."

"You... You're the disgusting one, Abernathy. You don't understand me and you never will."

"Ditto, sweetheart."

"Don't give me one of your stupid pet names," she spat before turning and storming out the door. However, it wasn't her room she turned to. Instead, she marched down the stairs and into the kitchen, making certain to break the first bottle of alcohol she found as loudly as humanly possible so even the noise would reach him.

He winced and just fell back against his pillows, crossing his arms. "I can't believe I almost..." He trailed off and turned onto his good side.


	15. Sorry

A/N: Thanks to everyone for reading! Our fic has had 145 visitors in the past few days that it's been published and Lily and I love every comment we get! Please keep them coming, you have no idea how exciting it is to know we have actual fans out there!

Mild Warning: This is a "downer chapter", as I like to call them. Not a lot of action and focusing on another aspect other then the predominant plot. Regardless, I hope you enjoy and look forward to the chapters to come. Which will be very, very soon.

* * *

><p>Chapter 15. Sorry<p>

A week later, things were still off at Haymitch's house, but he was bed ridden for the majority of it, so it wasn't too bad. On this day, however, he could no longer lay in bed anymore. He had slowly clambered up that morning and showered before walking slowly downstairs, his left arm in a sling, checking for Effie around every corner. To his dismay, Effie sat in the hallway next to the telephone. She didn't seem to notice him though as she was in the middle of a conversation.

"It's in a week and I know since they've stuck me here this long they expect me to be an escort here again, but I positively can't!"

He scowled and rolled his eyes, walking past her and into the kitchen, searching in all his hidden places for some liquor. Effie paused upon noticing Haymitch's search. Pressing her lips together, she turned back to the phone. "I can sense another fight, Cressida. Let me call you back later."

As she hung up the phone, she merely crossed her arms and legs, watching the door frame to the kitchen as she anticipated Haymitch coming out in a frenzy. In the past week she had busied herself with searching the entire house, top to bottom, for every bottle he had stashed. Haymitch searched every cabinet, nook, and cranny for his bottles and he froze, turning around to look at her, eyes narrow.

"... you didn't."

Effie refused to answer and just turned her head away.

He walked over to her and glared down at her. "Effie, how dare you?"

"Oh, are we speaking now?"

"Oh, are we speaking now?" he mocked in a higher tone, trying to copy her Capitol accent. "Shut up. Who do you think you are, throwing away my personal property? For such a well-mannered broad, that is rude."

"Since when does a District 12 peasant such as yourself care about what is rude and proper?" Effie purposefully deepened her tone yet rose the volume, as if trying to imitate a royal queen. If he viewed her as such a stuck up, selfish individual then she was going to act like one.

"Cute. Just provide me with replacement alcohol and all will be forgotten."

"No."

He growled and opened and closed his fists a few times before sitting in one of his chairs, gripping his hair. Effie turned her head slightly to look at him fully after the growl. "Perhaps if you apologized."

He rubbed his face, scratching his palms with his stubble. "If I apologize, you'll replace it?"

Effie rose an eyebrow at his reaction. She had more expected him to flip out at the suggestion, perhaps even knock over a chair or something. He tiredly put his head on his table. "You didn't answer me."

"I said perhaps."

"Then no. I have nothing to apologize for."

"And if I told you yes, you would have apologized?"

"I would have considered it." He paused. "But probably not. I can buy my own."

"I was going to say. I didn't view you as that easy to break, Haymitch."

"And the compliments keep coming. I guess I'll have to add that to irresponsible and careless."

"I have quite the extensive list myself, you know."

"You're welcome." He smirked at her, but it was slightly hesitant and even nervous. And it was for good reason. Effie just clenched her fists tighter, looking like she wanted to jump up and slap him again. However, she managed to keep her composure as best she could by simply closing her eyes and turning her head away. Haymitch paused and stood up. He took a step toward her and put his hand on the door frame, looking at her. "Listen, Effie. You don't have to leave. I know you can't stand me, but Katniss and Peeta are going to need you, as well as the two new tributes."

"I can't stand what you think of me," she corrected, her eyes closing a little tighter.

"It was out of line. I was up..." He paused a moment and went to touch her shoulder but thought better of it and dropped his hand to his side. "Out of all the Capitol pawns, you're the best one I've met and I wouldn't trust my district in any other hands."

"What do you care?" she spat as she suddenly stood. Her arms crossed in their usual manner when she was angry with Haymitch and she turned away from him. "Your precious alcohol is in the spare room Mr. and Mrs. Mellark stayed in while they borrowed space here. You can stop pretending to tolerate me now."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm not pretending, Effie. I was upset, okay? I was upset at what you said about me and I said stuff I didn't mean because I couldn't stand what you said and then I proved your point."

Effie didn't answer, trying to play it off as annoyance and anger still at him. However, in reality, she ran through his sentence a few times in her head and still was having a level of difficulty trying to figure out what exactly he was trying to say.

"Effie, haven't you realized? I want to be different around you and I haven't... felt that way since before my Games. I want to talk to you and tell you you're beautiful, with and without your wig, and I want to tell you that I don't get upset, but you accomplished that last week. I'm being sincere and then you just... don't want to hear it." He sighed and stopped leaning on the door frame, standing up straight. It was one of the hardest things ever for him to admit, but over the weeks he had grown more and more fond of the younger woman from the Capitol.

That was clear enough for Effie to understand. Her eyes widened a little and her face reddened as she turned and looked back towards him. She pressed her lips together and bit them shut as she searched her mind for what to say to such a thing. It all sounded so sincere, what he said, but there was still a level of distrust. That he might be lying or making fun of her in some odd, foreign, and cruel way.

She managed to choke out one sentence after a long period of thought.

"I don't wear a wig."

In her mind, she cursed loudly at herself for being so bad at unexpected situations. This slightly amused Haymitch. He slowly smiled.

"Yes, you do. I've seen you without it."

"What? How-? I do not!" she tried to convince, though a slight level of panic was evident in her tone.

His smile now grew ridiculously large. "You do! I saw it the day you became stranded here. I went to give you a message and you were already asleep with your blonde, curly hair."

At this point her face was redder then any tomato that any citizen of District 12 had ever seen. Immediately, she picked up her clipboard she had sitting beside the phone for messages and whacked him in the chest with it, avoiding his wounded side. "PERVERT! How dare you sneak in on a lady when she's asleep!"

He laughed at her awkward attempts to hurt him. "I didn't know you were asleep! You told me to tell you when that girl called!"

"I did not say immediately! I should have known better then to assume you'd be intelligent and courteous enough to let a woman have her rest for awhile before bursting through her door and..." she gasped before hitting him again. "What else did you do when you broke into my room?"

"Oh my... nothing! I just covered you up with a quilt." She threw the clipboard back down on the table before throwing him a glare. Paired up with her signiture 'angry with Haymitch' arm-cross, she tried to muster up as much of an angry and intimidating look as she could.

He rolled his eyes. "Only you would beat up a man with a clipboard when he's injured."

"Be quiet! You deserved it!"

"I deserve tolerance and understanding, not beatings."

"I understand that you snuck into my room and I tolerate the fact that you're injured so I can't hit you as hard as I'd like."

"Well, then, I apologize."

"Yeah, well... wait, what?"

He smirked before speaking. "I apologize that I did exactly what you wanted me to and then complimented you on your hair. I know it was terrible of me." There was a slight undertone of sincerity, making it sound like he was actually apologizing for something larger, but couldn't quite say it with his pride standing in the way.

Effie, regardless of the undertone, still seemed rather clueless. "Did what I wanted you to?"

He sighed and just sat back down on his chair. "Nevermind."

"Don't say something unless you can elaborate on it!"

He mumbled something down toward his knees. Effie blinked and leaned her head forward towards him. "Say that again?"

He groaned and leaned his head against the back of the chair so he wouldn't have to look at her. "I'm sorry for yelling at you."

Effie's eyes slowly began to widen before her smile slowly started to do the same. "Was that an apology, Haymitch Abernathy?"

He mumbled, crossing his arms. "Kind of. I guess."

"That's _exactly what it was!_" she almost giggled, she was so happy and excited. "Looks like you really DO have some manners!"

He lifted his head and shot her a glare. "Don't tell anyone."

"Only Cressida," she said before turning back to the telephone, about to call her.

"No!" He jumped up and grabbed her hand before she could touch the phone. Her smile just grew wider as she looked back at him, giggling a little. Haymitch blinked, dropping her hand quickly. "What?"

"Is this the different side you wanted to show me? Your adorably defensive side?" she continued to laugh.

"I have an image to protect," he frowned as he crossed his arms. Suddenly, he paused, his frown slowly turning in a smirk as he realized fully what she said. "You think I'm 'adorable'?"

"I think it's uncharacteristically different for you," she laughed, turning back and looking up at him.

He raised an eyebrow, looking down at her. "I don't know if I like it."

"Well, only you can decide that," she shrugged before looking back at the phone. She reached down, picking it up again. "While you consider that, I need to give Cressida a call back."

Haymitch paused before nodding. "Fine, but if I hear my name mentioned, I'm ending your call."

She just smiled back at him before starting to dial the number. "Your name is going to come up, but I won't mention the fact you're actually a good guy."

"Fair enough. I'm going to retrieve my liquor."

Effie just made a disappointed sigh but still made her phonecall. The phone rang and rang before the woman on the other end answered. "Cressida? Sorry about that. No, everything's fine. It looks like I'm going to accept the escort job after all."


	16. Reaping

A/N: A little bit fluffy and a little bit of an upper compared to the last chapter! This is the last chapter we're updating tonight. I need to go to sleep now and wake up in 4 hours. I hope you all know how much I love you though and love writing this fic with Lily for you all. So please keep on commenting your encouragement and maybe even criticism and suggestions so we can improve future chapters!

* * *

><p>Chapter 16. Reaping<p>

Katniss tossed in her bed for the hundredth time that night. She sighed and sat up, dark hair loose and messy around her shoulders. She couldn't stop thinking about where her mother was at this very second. Nor, of course, the upcoming day that could possibly be the worst day of her life. She slowly pulled back her blankets and stepped onto the cold ground. Quietly, she opened her bedroom door and snuck down the hallway to Peeta's. She knocked softly on the door, not wanting to disturb him if he happened to be asleep.

By the immediate response she got, it was apparently Peeta was having as much difficulty as she was sleeping. He opened the door almost immediately when she knocked and looked out. Spots of various colored paints caked his hands and parts of his clothing and face, some still slightly wet.

"Katniss?" he blinked his darkened eyes. He had not been getting much sleep at all since the incident with his own mother.

She smiled at him slightly. "Peeta. I can't sleep... do... do you want some company?"

"Company?" he repeated. Peeta peered back into his room before giving Katniss a nod. He even went as far as to hold the door open for her to walk in. She smiled at him in thanks before walking under his arm and into his room.

The room was a mess, but not in the same sort of way Haymitch's home was messy. It looked more like Peeta had transformed his room into a studio. A few chunks of clay littered the floor, many paintbrushes and tubes of paint were clustered on his desk, and even some pieces of wood that had looked like they were being cut at were scattered. Nothing was as predominant in the room, however, as the oil paintings that rested on easels in the room's center. Vivid images in an almost abstract yet still slightly realistic manner of various gorey scenes were painted, mostly from the Hunger Games themselves. However, they did not look particularly gloomy, considering their subject matter. While dead, the figures all seemed peaceful, as if they were sleeping and just waiting to wake up.

Peeta closed the door behind her before looking back. "Sorry. About the mess. I've been wanting to try out some of those talents we were supposed to do for that interview a few weeks back and..."

Katniss stood, transfixed, her eyes on the paintings. She stepped toward them and glanced back at Peeta. "Oh, Peeta, these paintings are beautiful."

"Really think so?" he asked as he walked over beside her, examining the pieces like it was the first time he's ever actually seen them. "They seem sort of... fake."

She tilted her head to the side a little, looking at them for a moment, before shaking her head. "They seem almost... peaceful."

"That's exactly what I mean. The peace in their faces." Slowly, he reached up and ran his fingers along the rim of a canvas depicting the image of the District 8 girl he had helped kill while with the Careers. "It's a lie... they all died in pain, agony, fear, sorrow... I can paint it however I want, it won't make it true."

"They're paintings. They don't have to be true. It's comforting to think of them that way..." She trailed off, glancing away and thinking of Rue.

"Comfort and truth aren't the same," Peeta sighed before looking to a canvas that was sitting at his desk. The wettest and most current picture that he had been working on before Katniss walked in showed his mother, laying on the floor of her room in their home. However, he had not finished her expression yet. "It's weird... I can't think of what her face would look like peaceful..."

Katniss frowned and looked at the unfinished painting. "Does this... make you feel any better?" she asked, looking back up at him.

"Kind of. It upsets me, but I kind of feel like... it's good for them. Good that at least one person won't forget their sacrifices and deaths. And by making them look peaceful, they're not being remembered necessarily just for dying... So, I guess in itself it's a little calming, but then sometimes when I look at them, it still brings back those memories... It's hard to explain, I'm sorry."

She shook her head and slightly laughed, somewhat darkly. "You don't have to explain it to me. I understand. Everyone who sees your paintings will understand too, Peeta."

He just nodded silently back at her before looking down. "I sort of wish we still had those interviews to do... Partially to show the world but also I wanted to hear what you were going to sing."

She smiled and sat down on Peeta's bed, curling her legs under her body. "I probably would have gotten in trouble."

"Trouble?" he blinked

"Well, taken in context, it could be a song of rebellion, given our... circumstance."

He blinked a few times, now interested. "Can I hear?"

She blushed slightly and paused before nodding since it was Peeta. She cleared her throat before beginning to sing.

_"Are you, are you coming to the tree_

_Where they strung up a man they say murdered three?_

_Strange things did happen here, n__o stranger would it be_

_If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree._

_Are you, are you c__oming to the tree_

_Where the dead man called out for his love to flee?_

_Strange things did happen here, n__o stranger would it be_

_If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree._

_Are you, are you c__oming to the tree_

_Where I told you to run, so we'd both be free?_

_Strange things did happen here, n__o stranger would it be_

_If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree._

_Are you, are you c__oming to the tree_

_Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me?_

_Strange things did happen here, n__o stranger would it be_

_If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree."_

As Peeta listened in silence, a very faint smile appeared on his face. By the time she had finished, he was looking right to her with an almost reminiscent look. "I've heard that song before."

She blinked, turning her face up to look at him. "You have?"

He nodded. "A very long time ago. Your dad was in our shop. My dad had told me about how the birds stopped singing when he began. I remember that he was right..." There was a long pause as Peeta looked down to his feet, his mind racing to his own father. He shook his head a little to shake the memories away. "You sing it more beautifully then he did."

Her face flushed and she smiled slightly at him. "No one can sing more beautifully than my father did. He taught me the song when I was young, before... you know, and then my mom yelled at me, saying it was inappropriate."

"Well, it definitely would be viewed as such considering all that happened now," he partially agreed as he sat down on the bed next to her. "I still think it would have been great to hear you sing it on television."

She smiled and took one of his hands in both of hers. "And I think it would have been great for everyone to see your paintings. What a rebellious couple we would have been. Effie would have had a heart attack."

Peeta couldn't help but laugh what was probably his first real laugh in weeks, maybe even months. Just the thought of a stressed and frenzied Effie going around, screaming at the two of them amused Peeta more than intimidated. "Poor Effie," he almost sympathized before snickering a little more.

She smiled slightly and squeezed his hand. "It's nice to hear your laugh, Peeta. It's been a while."

"I haven't had much to laugh about recently. Thanks for putting a smile on my face again though, Katniss." Peeta squeezed her hand back before looking to her. Slowly, his smile faded with a sigh. "The Reaping is tomorrow. We should probably at least attempt to sleep some tonight."

She glanced at the door and then back up at Peeta. "I've tried that and I'm just... I'm really worried about tomorrow. Do you think maybe... we can try sleeping here... together?"

Almost as immediate as his answer when she knocked, Peeta nodded towards her, almost as if he wanted to ask her the same. "As long as you're comfortable with it, I wouldn't mind at all."

She smiled at him brightly, her first full smile in a while. She nodded quickly. "Of course I'm comfortable. I was afraid you were going to say no."

He shook his head as he smiled back. "I could never tell you no, Katniss. Come on, let's try to sleep."

Katniss blushed and layed back against his pillows, tugging him beside her by the hand. Waiting slightly for her to get in and comfortable, Peeta laid down beside her and pulled the covers up for the two of them. Peeta took extra mind to make sure she was fully covered and had the majority of the pillow to keep her the most comfortable before reaching over and pushing some hair away from her face. "Goodnight, Katniss."

* * *

><p>Bright and early, as always, Effie was banging at the doors for Katniss and Peeta to wake up. When she found the two sleeping in the same room, she looked confused but pushed it aside for later questioning as their schedule came first in her book.<p>

Rushed off in two separate directions, it was the fastest prepping the stylists had ever completed. Their goal was simple - to only accent and let Katniss and Peeta's natural appearances take precedence. It would be out of the ordinary for them to look too dolled up for a Reaping ceremony.

After the two were primped and dressed, they were instructed to wait in the living room for Haymitch and Effie.

"I bet the reason they hurried with us was because Effie wants to try and coax Haymitch into looking decent," Peeta muttered with a small laugh under his breath. It seemed like the old, happy Peeta was slowly starting to come back in place of the traumatized one.

Katniss just smiled at Peeta and took his hand. "Good luck with that. I don't think Haymitch owns anything that doesn't smell like dead animal."

"Alcohol," Peeta suggested.

"Ah, touché."

After about another hour, Effie had practically given up on Haymitch. Their schedule was starting to cut it too close anyways, though she did manage to convince him to make his public appearance without a bottle in his hand.

The group made their way towards the newly built platform, though no torture devices or means of execution were to be found. It was simply now an area for public announcements. Or, rather, for now it was.

"Katniss, Peeta, Haymitch. I've been instructed that we're supposed to wait behind the platform until the Peacekeepers are finished with their speeches to the cameras," Effie began as she read off a little calendar book of hers. "We'll be called out and I'll draw the names at random of the two Victors that will be mentors, then each of you will pick to see who you are mentoring."

Katniss frowned a little but nodded all the same. Effie turned and led the group of three backstage. As they stood behind a giant red curtain, the sound of Peacekeeper Thread's voice could be heard, speaking in the microphone directly to the cameras. Peeta made a slight gagging noise upon hearing the man. Haymitch rubbed his shoulder absentmindedly while Katniss kept her eyes on the ground, waiting for Thread to finish his thinly-veiled-threat of a speech to the cameras.

"And now, without further hesitation, allow me to bring to you our Victors!"

"There's your cue. Go!" Effie hissed, pushing Haymitch first since he was the most experienced with these events.

Haymitch scowled at her but made his way up onto the stage, not even bothering to smile, while Katniss followed closely behind.

Peeta followed in turn before the three of them stood before the sea of District 12 citizens, all of which were available for Reaping. Among the crowd, even Cinna, Portia, and the other stylists stood. They were not there for the Reaping themselves, of course. But instead, they stood next to the small Prim who held Buttercup closely.

Not too far from them, Gale and his family stood as well. Hazelle looked a downright mess and, judging from the fact they still seemed underfed, it was obvious that Thread had not actually sent them their food yet. Whether or not Gale's name was in for tesserae over one hundred times or not was still a mystery, however.

Soon after their announcement, Thread called out for Effie to take center stage. With a smile on her face, she walked out, waving to the audience. She began to give a little speech on how happy she was to be escorting for District 12 again and thanking everyone for letting her be there. The same routine that she was taught for her previous year.

After her speech had finished was when it was time for her to draw the names for the mentors. Reaching down among the very small number of slips, she pulled two out and looked to the three Victors. "Alright. The first mentor will be... Katniss Everdeen!"

Katniss gave a strained smile at the crowd and then at Effie as she moved away from Haymitch and Peeta to stand closer to her. Effie gave Katniss a small, comforting smile before looking to the other slip. "And our second mentor will be... Peeta Mellark!"

Upon hearing his name, Peeta's eyes immediately went to Haymitch, almost like he didn't really believe he had just been called. Haymitch shrugged in an almost good naturedly way and patted Peeta on the back reassuringly.

Peeta nodded slightly at Haymitch before turning and walking towards Katniss. Half-way through his walk, he remembered that they were being filmed. That all of Panem was watching them, right now. Slowly, he forced his face into a smile and he walked right up to Katniss. He wrapped his arms around her in an almost loving looking hug before planting a kiss on her forehead.

Katniss smiled up at him in a besotted way and curled an arm around his waist, remembering as well that they were supposed to be a happy couple. The crowd of District 12 cheered for the choice, though it was still a very solemn event for them.

"And now, Katniss, if you wouldn't mind? You will be the first to draw a name for whom you will be mentoring," Thread announced in the microphone, turning towards Katniss.

Katniss looked at Thread and gave him a sickeningly sweet smile. "Of course, Peacekeeper." She reached down with her free hand and pulled out her slip. She closed her eyes for a milisecond before looking down at the piece of paper. Surely enough, it seemed Thread really had signed Gale up for extra slips in the Reaping. Either that, or Katniss just had very bad luck in her drawings.

Regardless of the reason, Thread held the microphone to her face. "And your tribute is...?"

Katniss curled her fist around the name and looked at Gale, her eyes full of pain and sorrow. She cleared her throat and fought to keep her voice steady, though it shook slightly, and she didn't force a smile this time. "Gale Hawthorne."

Even though his name was just called, Gale's expression never changed. He turned towards his mother and siblings, however, and gave each of them a brief hug and kiss before walking his way through the crowd. Once finally at the platform, he completely bypassed Thread and stood at Katniss's side. Katniss glanced at Gale briefly as he stood next to her but then she turned to stare blankly at the crowd.

"Gale Hawthorne, congratulations," Thread hissed with a smirk. Gale didn't give him the pleasure of a response.

"Now, Peeta Mellark, if you would please come draw your tribute's name."

Peeta stepped up and reached down towards all the slips for the female tributes. Finally, he fished one out and pulled it to eye level. His face immediately lost all color as his eyes grew wider. "Oh no..." he whispered, though it was loud enough at least for Katniss and Gale to catch. Katniss turned her head sharply to look at Peeta, worried at his response.

Thread, however, jumped right next to him and was in his face just as he had Katniss. "Well, Mr. Mellark. Who is your tribute?"

Peeta stared up at Thread briefly before looking back down at the slip. Somehow he managed to choke out the name regardless of the lump in his throat that had formed.

"M... Madge Undersee."


	17. Departure

A/N: So, The Hunger Games: The Girl on Fire was really just a placeholder name because Lily and I suck at coming up with titles. But today, we finally decided on "Wildfire" because it fit the entire one word chapter set up we have and also illustrates that this is to re-write/re-plot/take the place of "Catching Fire" in our magical world. So, to those of you who don't like change, we're very sorry. But this sounds better. :)

* * *

><p>Chapter 17. Departure<p>

As soon as Peeta's voice rang out across the crowd, Madge's smile faltered. She glanced at the girl next to her, as if there had been a mistake. She froze before turning to her parents, wrapping her arms around both of them simultaneously. Madge pulled away quietly and walked up onto the stage, trying to seem in control, but her hands were shaking. Mrs. Undersee's quiet sobs could be heard in the crowd as she had to cope with the fact that she could be losing a daughter on top of the sister she lost in the last Quarter Quell.

Peeta just watched Madge make her journey towards him, a sick feeling stabbing the pit of his stomach. He tried to avoid Katniss's eyes, feeling guilty even though he could not knowingly chose who was going to the Games. Still, he felt responsible. _Maybe Katniss was right about about me being __incompetent_, Peeta thought to himself. Madge stepped up and stood next to Peeta quietly, looking down at her hands clasped together. Katniss watched her before lifting her head and staring out at the crowd defiantly. Her two best friends had been chosen as Tributes. Somehow, this didn't seem exactly like chance to her.

"And here we have it, everybody! Your District 12 Tributes!" Thread announced to the crowd and cameras before turning off to Gale and Madge. "Please make your way to the train where we'll be sending in your families to wish you luck."

Gale mentally cursed himself for burning down the hanging post. What he wouldn't do to string Thread up and wipe that smirk off his face permanently.

Madge just glanced at Gale and then at Thread before nodding delicately. She walked off the stage and made her way to the train. Usually so good at reassuring people, she could not find a thing to make herself feel better. Gale followed quickly behind her, glancing back at Katniss before disappearing behind the curtain.

As Thread turned the microphone off and the other Peacekeepers dispersed into the crowd, he turned towards Katniss and Peeta. "Good luck, Fire Child. I'm certain your hunter friend will have fun entertaining the Capitol."

Katniss curled her hands into fists, stepping toward him. Haymitch, watching carefully, moved to stand behind her, but Katniss just moved into Thread's personal space. "One, it's Girl on Fire, Thread, but you're not allowed to call me that. And secondly, when Gale wins, and I promise you he will, we'll be back here. We will all be back here and I will destroy you."

"So you'll orchestrate the murder of the Undersee girl?"

She smirked, her eyes flashing. "Oh, I can't tell you all my plans, sport." She sighed softly and looked back at Haymitch and Effie. "Can we leave? I'm getting a headache from the smell of all this trash around us."

Effie nodded to Katniss, but Thread had to throw in one more comment. "As you would with all this Seam scum lingering about."

Katniss glanced back at him, not able to let him get this last word. "Oh, Thread," she started, condescendingly, "you can keep thinking it's the Seam, but I'm afraid you're just smelling yourself." She took Peeta's hand and quickly headed the way Madge and Gale had disappeared. All Effie could do was put her hand on her forehead. She politely excused herself from Thread before hurrying away from the stage, dragging Haymitch at her side. mumbling something about respect and how it's rude to talk back.

Haymitch rolled his eyes, following Effie off the stage. "He shot me, Effie. We're past pleasantries."

"I was talking about him," she murmured before letting go of Haymitch and checking her calendar schedule. "We have an hour before the train is scheduled to depart. I'd better go pack my things from your house and gather the stylists."

He nodded, his face softening when he realized that she wasn't criticizing Katniss. "I can go with you, if you like. Since I'm staying here."

Effie paused briefly before looking away from her calendar book at him. "We need you to be at the Capitol for whatever this grand scheme of yours is."

He blinked, speaking slowly to her as if she wasn't understanding. "I'm aware of that. But I can't go, I'm not a mentor this time."

"I've taken care of this already."

He paused, furrowing his eyebrows. "What? How?"

"I pulled some strings to get you a job among us, just in case."

He frowned. "A job? Do I actually have to do said job? And what is it?"

"The definition of the word 'job' is 'work,' so yes, Haymitch. You will have to get up and actually do something," she informed crossly before putting her calendar away. "Now come on, we need to hurry."

He groaned. "You're not going to tell me what I have to do, are you?"

She giggled a little, almost mischievously. He merely sighed. "I don't think I even want to know. Let's go." He took her shoulder and began walking toward his house.

* * *

><p>On the train, Gale and Madge had been instructed by Peacekeepers to wait in one of the rooms together. The families were to be gathered outside then brought in group by group in about fifteen minutes, leaving some time for the two of them to reflect and let sink in what was happening. Madge quietly sat down once they were in the room. She didn't look at Gale. Instead, she studied the wall, thinking of what she could tell her mother to calm the crying fit that was sure to ensue.<p>

Finally, Gale broke the silence. "Tell them you'll come home."

Without thinking, Madge let out a small laugh, but it was dark and humorless. "I can't lie to my parents."

"It's not a lie," he said, a blank expression on his face. "You'll have me protecting you."

She blinked and looked at him, searchingly. "You'd... do that?"

Gale rested his arms over his knees as he slumped forward. "Do you really think that it was a coincidence that me and you were chosen for this?"

She paused, gripping the edges of her Reaping dress. "I... hadn't thought about it. You think because we're both close to Katniss...?"

"I know it is. It's a fact that Thread messed with my tesserae, so it's not unlikely he didn't mess with yours and Prim's. I wouldn't be surprised if only your names were actually up for Reaping."

She frowned, glancing away. "Well, at least it wasn't Prim. I don't think Katniss could handle you and Prim. And, at least in the end, I'm sure she'll still have you, Gale." She said, thoughtfully, always thinking of the feelings of other people instead of herself or the fact that she was heading to a quite possible death.

Gale looked over to her before letting out a small laugh. "You know, I never liked you much."

She shrugged, glancing at him. "I know. You think I'm the mayor's spoiled daughter, never having to work a day in my life like you have."

"Something like that," he shrugged. "And I never got why Katniss liked you."

She shrugged as well. "Me either."

"But I think I get it now. You and Peeta have a lot in common and it must be what she sees in him too. You both care about her, even though you don't fully understand her. You're both there for her, unconditionally. Where as I, regardless of how much I try, give off more of the impression I'm returning favors."

She paused and looked at him, touching his shoulder delicately. "Peeta and I just realize how extraordinary Katniss is and we're proud to stand beside her. But you and Katniss will have a bond Peeta and I can never compete with. Don't compare yourself to us because we won't be able to even come close."

Gale looked at her, about to speak again when the door of the train opened. A handful of Peacekeepers walked in. "Madge Undersee, please follow us."

Madge nodded and stood up quietly, patting Gale gently on the shoulder. "Good luck."

He smiled up slightly at her. "Tell them what I told you to."

She smiled back at him, albeit a bit sadly. "I'll try." She paused another moment before turning and walking to the Peacekeepers. They led Madge off towards her room, leaving Gale to sit alone and wait.

* * *

><p>Katniss hopped off the stage after her confrontation with Thread, pulling Peeta with her by the hand. "Katniss," Peeta began as he squeezed her hand a little. "I'm so sorry, I..."<p>

She stopped walking and turned back to look at him, still slightly panting from anger, face pink. She pushed some loose strands of hair off her forehead with her free hand and frowned. "Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything..."

"I pulled Madge's name..."

Katniss paused. She let go of his hand and instead stepped closer, cupping his face in her hands, looking at him seriously. "And I pulled Gale's. It's not your fault, Peeta. I'm almost positive they stuffed the box with Madge's name like they did Gale's. The coincidence is too great. You can't blame yourself."

Peeta, however, wasn't fully convinced. It wasn't logical and he knew she was right, but he still felt like it was his fault. Softly, he placed his hand on top of hers. "I'm sorry... I... what are we going to do?"

She raised her eyebrows, unsure exactly what he meant. "What are we going to do about what?"

"It's Gale and Madge... only one can win."

She stared at him for a moment before dropping her hands from his face. "I... promised Gale I'd do everything I could for him. But that was before..."

"... you have to do everything you can for Gale. You're his personal mentor, I'm Madge's. We have to do our best with each of them."

She shut her eyes. "I can't... I can't abandon Madge. We'll just have to help both of them."

Peeta nodded slowly. "I don't think an attempt at double suicide would work again, do you?" he tried to joke, but his face was too serious for any parts of his statement to be funny.

Katniss smiled weakly and opened her eyes, looking at him. "I think that's a one time deal."

Peeta nodded a little as he took both her hands in his. He wanted to tell her they would think of something, or that everything would be okay, but he felt he needed to believe that himself first. For now, all he could do was try to comfort her as he traced small circles on the back of her hands with his thumbs.

"You two," Effie's voice interrupted, but it was soft. Almost like she actually didn't want to interfere in the scene. The pink haired escort stepped towards them with a forced smile. "The train will be leaving in a half hour and we still need to pack your possessions."

Katniss tore her eyes away from Peeta's and looked at Effie, forcing a smile and nodding. Effie put her hands on the two Victors' backs. She steered them towards their home so they could prepare to depart from their District once again for the Hunger Games.


	18. Unforgivable

A/N: I have to say, I love you all so much and love being a part of fandoms. Because, through fandoms, we have the magic of creating ship names and by being friends with fans we come up with some really fun shipping names. Today, Lily and I came up with a few. Let me share. EffieXHaymitch would be Hayfie. KatnissXGale would be Kale. CinnaXHaymitch would be Hanna. KatnissXHaymitch would be Hayniss. MadgeXKatniss would be MADNISS. Yet my personal favorite shipping name of all time [not saying its my favorite shipping just saying the name is fantastic] is KatnissXPeeta which would be _Peeniss_.

On to the chapter now.

* * *

><p>Chapter 18. Unforgivable<p>

After getting on the train and changing from their Reaping dresses, Katniss and Madge sat in the dining compartment. Madge was being quiet and eating off a roll while Katniss got her favorite lamb stew, longing for the one thing the Capitol created that she loved. Peeta sat beside Katniss as he too ate, though slowly as a feeling of guilt still loomed over his head. Gale, who sat across from Katniss, stared down at the food. His eyes were narrowed at it as he refused to even touch his plate. Katniss took a bite of her stew and sighed while Madge watched Gale with furrowed eyebrows.

Haymitch wandered in with a half-empty bottle of red wine and sat down next to Gale. "Hello, children."

Gale looked up with a smile, but Peeta looked like he was going to nearly choke on his food. After a quick sip of water, he stared at the drunken Victor, clear confusion on his face. "Haymitch? What are you doing here?"

Haymitch shrugged, setting his bottle on the table but not letting go of it. "When Effie lets me know, I'll tell you."

"Effie? You're not supposed to be here at all. What is she doing?"

He shrugged, taking another sip. "She got me a job somewhere for something."

Katniss just stared at him blankly. "So, you're voluntarily going to the Capitol because Effie got you a job, yet you don't know what you're going to be doing?"

Gale let out a laugh. With his knowledge of Haymitch's plan, getting him a job for the Capitol was both genius and the most hilarious form of irony. Katniss glanced at Gale like he was crazy but Haymitch slapped him on the back. "See? He has the right idea. Hilarious."

"It's about to get funnier," Gale chuckled as the door to the cart slid open. Standing at its frame was Effie, Cinna to her left. "Maybe we're about to see what exactly it is you're going to be doing."

Haymitch let the bottle fall from his mouth as he looked at Effie and Cinna. "Effie, please don't tell me..."

"Don't tell you what?" Effie rose an eyebrow as her and Cinna walked in. Wrapped in Cinna's arms was a bag of clothing which he dropped on Haymitch's lap with a smile. With his arms freed, he leaned over and took the bottle from his hands. "Sorry, sir, no drinking on the job." Effie further giggled.

Haymitch stared at Cinna, his jaw dropping open. He looked at Effie. "Effie, no! I can't be a stylist! No offense, Cinna... but NO!"

Katniss snorted into her glass of water while Madge looked horrified. She leaned forward, speaking quietly to Effie. "He won't be getting near me with a makeup brush, right?"

"Calm down, everybody, calm down!" Effie, however, was doing the best she could to keep her own composure and hold in her laughter.

Cinna smiled down slightly to Haymitch. "It's not that bad. We won't have you doing anything too major, just basics or perhaps pedicures."

Haymitch looked at Cinna, horrified. "I'm not touching any of the feet that are sitting at this table."

"Okay, okay, that's enough, Cinna," Effie laughed before going to Haymitch. "You're not going to be a stylist, per se. You're going to be an assistant. You don't have to do the actual make up work. Lord knows what you'd do to poor Madge and Gale."

Haymitch crossed his arms, glaring at Effie. "You're doing this to destroy any self-esteem I have left, aren't you?"

"I'm doing this so you can stay close."

He mumbled and held his hand out to Cinna, expecting his wine bottle back. Cinna, however, just set it on the table and held the back up for him.

"You need to get dressed. You dressed up for the stylists before and this won't be nearly as attention grabbing."

"What? Why? No one cares what I look like."

"If you're going to be a stylist's assistant, you need to look like one. Nobody wants their makeup done if someone who looks like... well, you... is looming around," Effie explained.

Haymitch scowled. "Thanks, Effie." He slowly turned back toward Cinna. "I don't have to wear, like, that eye stuff like you do, right?"

Cinna shook his head. "Well, not as obvious as mine."

"What? No!" Haymitch groaned and slid down in his chair.

Effie laughed before looking back at Gale. "And you, start eating."

Katniss slowly pushed Gale her lamb stew, giving him a look. Gale, however, pushed the stew back towards Katniss. "I don't want it."

Katniss narrowed her eyes at him. "Do you intend not to eat for your entire time in the Capitol?"

"Possibly," Gale crossed his arms.

"Well, that's going to be a long time," Effie pointed out as she pulled out her calendar book. "Seeing as how the Games themselves don't start for another four months."

"Four months?" Peeta choked for the second time.

Katniss turned from Gale to look at Effie, her look of concern turning to confusion. "Why is it taking so long?"

"I'm the only one who pays attention, aren't I?" Effie sighed. "When the broadcast was announced, they said each Games would be held bi-annually now. But you two have only had two months to enjoy your freedom. They are planning on a four month prep time to get to know their tributes and mentors better, for entertainment's sake."

"In other words, they want to steal everybody's freedom," Gale spat.

Katniss rolled her eyes slightly and gave Effie a look. "Now he's definitely not going to eat anything."

"He can't not eat for four months," she tried, but Gale just snickered.

"I'm from the Seam. I can go awhile."

"Gale, I don't think either of us has ever gone four months. Especially with all the strenuous activies you're going to be doing. As your mentor, I'm telling you to eat or else."

"Or else what?"

"Or else I'm going to beat you up. Now eat." She sloshed all of her stew onto his plate and crossed her arms, watching him expectantly.

Gale, however, didn't move. Instead, he let out another laugh as he leaned back with his arms crossed. "You know me better then that, Katniss. I don't do well with authority."

Katniss stared at Gale for a moment before uncrossing her arms, deciding a change of tactics was in order. Her eyes watered slightly, just enough so that when she looked in his eyes, hers sparkled. "Gale, you realize the Capitol doesn't care if you don't eat. In fact, I'm sure they prefer it. And... if you would just keep your strength up... for me..."

Gale stared back at her long and hard, before sitting upright. "I think I preferred your tough girl tactic. This doesn't fit you."

She banged her fist on the table, making Madge jump slightly, gripping her collar. "Just eat the damn food, Gale."

He stared her down for a full minute before turning back to the table and taking one roll of bread. Katniss sighed and stood up from the table, unable to just sit there anymore and more than a little frustrated with Gale. "I'm going to wait for the recap of the Reapings to begin."

Madge glanced up at Katniss before catching sight of the red-haired Avox from Katniss's first journey to the Capitol behind her, carrying a large bowl of lamb stew. Being Madge, she beamed politely at her. "Oh, I love your hair! Here, let me help you with that..."

"What? I'm eating, see?" Gale said as he took a small bite of the roll. His gaze turned towards Madge, his eyes rolling at her slightly, but when he caught sight of the Avox girl, he hesitated. With an intrigued look, he stared at the red-haired girl, trying to pin point where she looked familiar from. When it finally hit him, his eyes widened and the bread roll dropped to the floor.

Katniss shot Gale a warning glare, silently telling him not to say anything. The red-haired Avox girl, unsure of what to do, set the lamb stew hurriedly on the table and rushed off.

Madge frowned, looking back at the group sitting at the table. "Did I do something wrong?"

Katniss spoke without emotion. "You're not supposed to talk to the Avoxes."

Immediately, Gale sprang up to his feet and flipped his plate off the table, it shattering on the floor. Pure rage and hatred was evident in his eyes. Effie shrieked at the loud noise of the plate but before she could even think of commenting on his manners, Gale had spun around and started his way after the Avox girl. Madge jumped out of her chair at the noise, but Katniss remained unalarmed, watching Gale storm off. The Avox was heading quickly down the hallway toward the train's kitchen, clutching her apron tightly in her hands.

"Hey, wait!" Gale called out, running after her still. The Avox girl froze since he had ordered her to stop, but she didn't turn around. Once directly behind her, Gale stopped to catch his breath. Now that he was there, he tried to quickly collect his thoughts and put them into words. "You... you're the girl from the woods... aren't you?"

She didn't speak, obviously, but slowly turned around to look up at him.

"She's had her tongue cut out." Katniss's voice was quiet behind them. Gale didn't look back to Katniss, but clenched his fists at his sides. He took a few cautious steps closer to her, his mind racing.

"I'm so sorry..." he finally choked out. The Avox's eyes just widened slightly, but she stood there and watched him. "I know it's not enough, but if I could go back and fix it, I would. I really would. Nobody should have to go through... what I can't even begin to imagine you did because of me."

The Avox girl continued to eye him for a moment before being sure he wasn't there to give her an order. She turned and continued walking. Gale said nothing more. He didn't expect her to forgive him. If it wasn't for the fact that she was a slave for the government, he would have half expected her to kill him. Regardless, he mentally promised that among all the other goals of destroying the Capitol and getting his revenge on Coin, the Avox girl's freedom was another must. Slowly, he turned and looked back to Katniss.

Katniss was just watching him warily, knowing his feelings since they were identical to hers the first time she saw the Avox girl. "I know," she stated simply, knowing there wasn't much else she could say.


	19. Tributes

Chapter 19. Tributes

Gale sat in the room with his arms crossed. He hadn't said a word to anybody since his encounter with the Avox girl. Instead, his eyes were fixed on the television, waiting for the tapes to start rolling. Katniss sat on the floor next to Madge, a small notepad on her lap and pen in hand. She kept glancing at Gale and then back at the television. Peeta stood, the remote in his hand to start the clips. Once he assured everybody was ready, he found a seat next to Katniss and pressed play. The Panem Capitol seal showed on the screen and Caesar Flickerman's voice played over it in a brief introduction of the 75th Hunger Games Reapings, an exciting time indeed with the third ever Quarter Quell. One by one, people of all ages came across the different stages of different districts: the people who would be Madge and Gale's competition.

Peeta's eyes stayed glued on the screen. Like Katniss, he too wrote down little notes here and there about each new tribute. Katniss drew little stars next to Tributes who looked especially brutal and small dots next to Tributes who could be possible allies, if Gale or Madge decided they wanted them. Among the brutal Tributes, there was a large star next to the name Savage Ray, a large muscular boy of 18 from District 1. He had close-cropped black hair, dangerously narrowed eyes, and a vicious smirk that made Katniss nervous to look at.

"Looks friendly enough," Gale tried to joke but mentally decided it would be best to avoid that boy.

Katniss didn't look away from the television. "It would be wise to avoid him. He could snap you over his knee." Katniss wrote down "Willow Pierce" from District 4 with a small dot and a question mark next to it. She was a small girl of 15, but she looked strong and compact with long wavy dark hair and wise green eyes. She was chosen to be mentored by Finnick Odair, who Katniss remembered winning from ten years prior.

Also, a man by the name Amur Bait was chosen to be mentored by Annie Cresta. The man stood at a tall six foot and eleven inches and looked to be anywhere from 35 to 40. From his body build and the overalls with rubber shoes he wore, it was clear he was an accomplished fisherman. Katniss whistled a low note when Amur came up, astonished by his mere size. Peeta marked on his board to put him on his 'avoid' list for Madge. So far the word "avoid" seemed to be all that was on his list for her. He bit his bottom lip a little.

Madge had turned her face away and wasn't able to watch her competition anymore as a woman in District 9 separated from her four crying children and a 5 year old from District 11 was pushed onto the stage while no one called out to volunteer for him. Finally, the last taping of District 12's reaping came on. Peeta put his clipboard down, not really needing to write anything down for this part and looked back at Madge. "Are you okay?"

Katniss set her notebook down as well, wincing at the weakness on her face and in her voice as she called out Gale's name on the television. Madge blinked and turned back toward Peeta and Katniss, her face pale. "Sure, why do you ask?"

"Probably because you're whiter than the paper they're writing on," Gale said before sitting up straight.

Madge put her hands on her cheeks. "Sorry, I guess just... seeing that little boy... and no one stepping up for him..."

"Sickening, isn't it?" he sighed, before looking to Katniss. "So, what's your take?"

Katniss shook her head. "Willow from District 4 stuck out to me as a possible ally, if you two are interested. But Amur and Savage look like two guys you do not want to get near. The rest... I guess we'll have to gauge them at the Capitol."

Gale slumped back again. "That kid... anyone catch his name?"

Katniss didn't say anything for a moment before turning away from Gale, Peeta, and Madge, automatically thinking of Rue. The boy was from her district and had that beautiful dark skin. "Don't. Don't get your feelings mixed up in children, Gale, it's only going to hurt more in the end."

"I'll take that as a no then. I'll learn it eventually, I suppose."

"We'll talk to Haymitch about it once we're in the Capitol. He knows the best mentors and, therefore, the best Tributes to get mixed up with," she stated quietly, digging through a small box that was beside the television. Gale said nothing more, his mind fixed on the fact that, regardless of what Katniss told him, he was going to seek out the little boy as well. Katniss finished trifling through the box. She turned back to address Madge, Gale, and Peeta, stone-faced.

"I'm going to watch the past Quarter Quell, just to get an idea of what it's about since I won't be able to sleep anyway. Madge, go lay down, you look like you're about to faint." Madge just nodded weakly, stood up, and left the room.

Gale watched as the blonde left the room before looking back at Katniss. "The last Quarter Quell? It's not going to be the same, we already know this."

Katniss rolled her eyes, taking the remote from Peeta, slipping the tape in and taking Madge's unoccupied seat. "I never said it was going to be. I've just never watched one before and I'm curious. I never said you two have to stay here with me."

"Someone's touchy."

She glared at him. "I wonder why."

"What did I do?" He tried to sound as innocent as possible.

Trying to avoid a fight, Peeta looked to Katniss. "I'm curious too. That was the year Haymitch was a tribute, wasn't it?"

She opened her mouth to reply angrily, but ended up just closing it and nodding. "Exactly. Let's see what he was like before he was a drunk."

Gale perked up almost instantly, like a dog would when shown a new toy. He had gone looking to Haymitch for advice and the man seemed reliable to a degree, but he was curious as to what he was really capable of. "What are we waiting for? Play it."

She smirked in victory and slumped back in her chair, pressing play on the remote control. Both the boys sitting with her turned and glued their attention to the screen with possibly more intensity then when the actual tributes were shown prior.

Katniss settled in, setting her chin on her hand, as an older-looking Capitol seal flashed across the screen, followed by a view of the arena. It was so breathtakingly beautiful, Katniss let out a small gasp. The Cornucopia was in the middle of a green meadow under a bright blue sky filled with fluffy clouds. Woods lined one side of the meadow and on the other, a snowcapped mountain stood. The camera panned close in on each Tribute, Maysilee Donner being shown with a very familiar gold Mockingjay pin on her chest and then Haymitch Abernathy being showed last, his gray eyes intensely narrowed and his curly dark hair being ruffled by the gentle breeze.

"Katniss, that pin...?" Peeta began before looking up towards her.

Katniss gently touched her pin, looking at Peeta. "Madge gave it to me before the Games. I guess... that's one of her family members?"

"Maybe that's why she left so fast."

"Perhaps." She paused and sighed, furrowing her eyebrows. "I didn't know... I wouldn't have brought anything up."

"It's not your fault," Peeta tried before looking back to the screen. "For now, let's finish watching this. Then we'll talk to Madge."

Katniss nodded and focused back on the screen, changing the subject back to their former mentor. "Haymitch was gorgeous, though."

The focus was on Haymitch as he was bombarded by four Careers in the woods. He had taken out three quickly before the fourth snuck up behind him with a knife. When Maysilee saved him with a poison dart, he sized her up for a moment before deciding on an alliance.

Haymitch kept forcing Maysilee to walk, even as she complained. "_Haymitch, where are we going? Can we stop for a moment_?"

Haymitch wouldn't even glance back at her as he forced his way. "_No, keep walking_."

This continued as the Tributes dwindled down to the single digits, keeping out of trouble by constantly moving, and eventually there were only 3 left, the others being killed off by combat but mainly, muttations and poisoned water and food.

"Not exactly entertaining enough for sponsors though," Peeta admitted. It was obvious the three of them were watching only for Haymitch and Maysilee.

"He doesn't need sponsors," Gale retorted as he watched Haymitch on the screen. "He's not looking for handouts."

"He's too much like you. He's lucky to be alive, having such a view of the world," Katniss retorted coldly.

"Katniss, look at him on the screen. It's not luck. He didn't go in there without a plan, and it's working so far. I just want to know what it is..."

She crossed her arms, mumbling under her breath.

Before they reached wherever Haymitch was heading to, Maysilee stopped him. _"Haymitch, I think it's time... there's only three of us. We can't stay together forever." _

Haymitch turned to look at her for a long moment before nodding. _"Good luck, May." _

_"You too, Haymitch. With whatever you're trying to do."_ Maysilee paused before leaning up and kissing his cheek gently. She stared into his eyes for a moment before turning and running back into the forest. Haymitch watched after her for a long moment, almost regretfully, before continuing on his journey alone.

Gale opened his mouth to make another comment, but the words didn't come out. He stared blankly at the screen, almost like he had been expecting something completely different. Katniss furrowed her eyebrows as Haymitch finally stopped at a cliff. He stared down and frowned, confused at the anticlimatic ending of it all. Suddenly, a twig snapped from behind him, echoing around his head. He was obviously thinking it was the girl from District 1, so he spun quickly and threw a knife, gasping when it embedded itself in Maysilee's neck.

Peeta gasped before putting a hand over his mouth while Gale's eyes grew wide. Katniss sat on the edge of her chair, gripping the arms tightly. None even dared to speak right now, waiting to see what happened next.

Haymitch let out a small groan and fell to his knees, quickly crawling to Maysilee, scooping her body against his larger one. He held her against his chest, touching her cheek gently. _"May... I'm so, so sorry... I didn't see, I thought you were... I should have looked..."_

Maysilee simply reached up shakily and touched his lips with the tips of her fingers before breathing her last breath and going limp in his arms. Her cannon sounded and Haymitch cried softly against her neck. After a minute or two, he gently set her down on the ground. He glanced up, tears on his cheeks, just in time to see the District 1 Tribute throw her axe at him. He ducked quickly and the axe fell over the edge of the cliff. There was a few seconds pause where they both stared at each other, breathing hard, until the axe came shooting back and imbedded itself in the District 1 girl's forehead.

No sound came from anyone for a long time. The shock of the scene took them all over. Finally, it was Peeta's confusion that broke the silence. "Wait, how did the axe come back?"

Katniss remained frozen for a few more moments, staring at Haymitch's handsome, devestated face on the screen as it slowly faded to black. She turned and looked at Peeta. "He found the end of the arena."

"The end?" Peeta blinked before looking back towards Katniss.

"... it can't go on forever, Peeta. Haymitch knew that."

"So, then what? The end of the arena is a cliff that throws whatever is thrown into it back?" Gale spoke up now as he turned towards the two.

Katniss looked uncertainly at Gale. "It appears so... though they probably fixed that little glitch."

"What do you think it would do now?" At this point, Gale was more intrigued with this tactic then anything else.

She shook her head, looking at the dark screen. "Probably something much more sinister. That was an act of rebellion on Haymitch's part, almost on par with our berries."

"But not quite." Haymitch's voice came from the door frame where he stood, intently watching the trio.


	20. Tension

Chapter 20. Tension

Peeta's face froze before slowly looking back towards Haymitch, like a child who just got caught stealing the cookies. Gale, however, was much less nervous hearing Haymitch behind him and turned fully towards him. Katniss looked back at him slowly as well, ashamed at being caught. Haymitch just finished his previously confiscated bottle of wine and set it on the floor.

"I'm not going to stab you in the throat, you guys can relax."

Peeta, however, didn't seem too convinced.

"Haymitch, what did you think you were going to find?" Gale asked up, staring directly at the older man. Haymitch tore his eyes away from Katniss's sympathetic face and looked at Gale.

"I noticed... well, you wouldn't have seen it in the tape. They edited it out. But I would notice if you threw a rock, it would bounce back. The pink muttation birds could only fly so far before being thrown back into the Arena. I was looking for where that force field would end, certain I could escape that way. Either I never found it, or it doesn't exist. I guess I'll never know."

"We'll just have to see about that."

He paused for two brief beats and continued to look at Gale, almost searchingly. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"I told Madge to tell her family she was going home. Either that means I have to die or there's an alternative," he said nonchalantly.

"Two weeks after my Quarter Quell, my mother, my younger brother, and my girlfriend were dead. It's not just your life you're affecting now. Just keep that in mind."

"So are you suggesting I just play into the Capitol's game? Let their scare tactics make me back off?"

He suddenly narrowed his eyes at him. "I'm asking that you play their game, yes. Seeing as I'm here to help you, Katniss, Peeta, and Madge through these Games, I require a bit of respect, kid. You're valuable and I'd hate to have to lose you to a stupid thing like deadly force fields."

"But Madge and everybody else is disposable then?" He stood up.

"Absolutely. You need a taste of reality, kid. This isn't about Madge or some other insignificant Tribute. This is about Katniss and who is going to be most helpful in the long run."

Gale grit his teeth and clenched his fists, trying his hardest to bite back all the comments rushing through his mind. One, however, he let slip.

"They're related, aren't they? Madge and May? Yet you won't even try to spare that family more sorrow."

Haymitch's eyes flashed and he grabbed Gale tightly by the front of his shirt, fists clenched. "Don't you DARE talk about things you don't understand!"

Katniss jumped up quickly, overturning her chair. She grabbed Haymitch's fist. "Haymitch!"

"Then explain it to me so I can understand better. These games are wrong, the Capitol is wrong, but when I suggest doing something about it, I'm wrong? I'm supposed to just stand back and let people to continue to go through the torture Katniss, yourself, and Peeta went through?" Gale's eyes were narrowed at Haymitch. Any respect he had for the man had vanished. He grabbed Haymitch's wrists which were still wrapped in his shirt collar tightly. "I know the risks, I know what could happen and in this one day, I've already seen enough to get a hint of what has happened to the lives this government has destroyed. I don't understand anymore then what I see and _nobody_ should have to!"

Katniss struggled with Haymitch's hands but he ignored her, taking a step closer to Gale, practically yelling in his face. "You know NOTHING! You've seen one day; I've lived with this for twenty five YEARS! I said I would help you and I WILL but this is NOT the way! Unless you want to get your family and KATNISS killed!"

"Then what exactly IS the way? Fight my way through the Games until everybody THERE has died?"

"THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO! If everyone else in this room has managed to do it, so can YOU!"

Gale managed to squirm his way backwards a little, just enough to release himself from Haymitch. Now freed, he pointed back to Peeta then to Katniss. "They didn't."

Haymitch, breathing hard, finally let go of Gale. "They're special. You're not. I'm not. Without Peeta, Katniss isn't likeable. He's necessary."

Gale went to shout at him again, but couldn't find the right words. Nothing anybody has ever said to him in the past has infuriated him as much as everything to come out of Haymitch's mouth these past few minutes.

Slowly, he turned away from Haymitch and looked to Katniss. Katniss stared at Haymitch, eyes moist and slightly offended. She turned and looked back at Gale as well, frowning.

"I'll think of something..."

"Gale, I know you..." She trailed off, knowing nothing she could say would change his mind. She shook her head and just looked down. Gale turned towards the door frame, looking past Haymitch as he began to exit the room.

Haymitch sneered after him. "Good luck with that."

Gale, however, just walked out without another word. Haymitch waited a few moments before leaving as well, in the opposite direction of where Gale went. Katniss paused and looked at Peeta.

"He... really isn't good with authority, is he?" Peeta attempted to joke with a small, sympathetic smile.

"He's infuriating is what he is. But it doesn't matter what I say, he's going to do what he wants. He doesn't even need me."

"He's going to in the games," Peeta warned. "You're going to need to get him to be less stubborn and come up with an actual strategy."

"That's impossible, Peeta. I know he's going to find that little boy and join an alliance with him and Madge because that's what I would do."

"If that's what you would do, then it should be easier for you two to come up with a strategy."

"It's what I would do, but it's not what he should do and it's what he's going to do. At least Madge is going to take your advice. Gale just fights with me."

Peeta let out a loud sigh before standing up. "You still need to figure out something. You still should talk to him at the least. It's what I'm going to do with Madge once we're finished up here. I'm certain the other tributes already have some tactics to use, but since this is our first time mentoring, our tributes will probably be considered inexperienced through us."

Katniss nodded and glanced at the door that Gale and Haymitch had exited from. She sighed. "You're right. We have to work twice as hard as everyone else."

He nodded before tucking his clipboard under his arm. "We should both go now. If you want or need to talk about it afterwards, I'll be in my room. This is going to be a very trying next few months."

"I know." She paused and then wrapped her arms around his neck, slightly disturbed after the Gale/Haymitch confrontation. "I'm glad you're here," she whispered after a moment.

Peeta smiled slightly as he lightly dropped the clipboard and wrapped his arms back around her. "Forever, remember?"

She nodded quickly and pulled back, discreetly wiping her eyes on his shirt. "Thanks, Peeta. Let's go sort this out."

* * *

><p>Inside his temporary bedroom in the train, Gale sat at the corner of his bed. Staring blankly at the wall, Gale's body trembled almost violently as everything ran through his head. Between seeing the Avox girl to his confrontation with Haymitch, the stress continued to boil inside of him.<p>

_Is it really that bad a thing? Wanting to protect everyone from dying?_ Gale gripped onto his right wrist, trying to stop his arm's spasms.

Katniss walked slowly up to the door to Gale's room. She held her fist up, hesitating for a brief moment before knocking gently. Gale's head immediately jerked towards the door, a slight bit of panic rushing him. He wasn't entirely certain why.

"Who's there?" he called out, trying to sound annoyed and angry.

She paused slightly and set her forehead against his door before calling back. "Katniss. Can I come in?"

Gale took in a deep breath, trying to calm himself as he stood. His arms crossed loosely. "Alright, it's unlocked."

Katniss bit her bottom lip and opened his door. She stepped inside and shut it behind her, leaning back against it. She paused before looking at him. She frowned. "Gale..."

He turned back and looked at her. "Yes?"

She paused before taking a step away from the door, raising her chin up slightly and looking at him. "You've got to stop fighting me on everything."

"You want me to do the same as Haymitch does."

"I didn't say that. If I did, I would be a hypocrite."

"Then what should I do? Am I supposed to just sit back and do what I'm told with everything? Is that what you did?"

She laughed. "You don't want to do what I did. Remember? I'm unlikeable. I shot an arrow at the judges when I was training in front of them. I spent my entire Games first trying to keep Rue safe and then, when I failed, I had Peeta to keep safe. I fully intended on dying there. But I didn't. I'm not going to tell you to put yourself first, because I know you and I know you won't. But I want you to say you'll try to stay safe. It's completely selfish. I just want you to stay safe because you're mine."

Gale looked up at her slowly as all the tremors he had been pushing back into his body subsided. "Katniss..."

"Please." She glanced up at him, searchingly, before pulling her quivering bottom lip quickly between her teeth to hide it.

Gale reached forward and put his hands on her shoulders before stopping directly in front of her. He nodded slightly. "I'll try."

She stared hard into his eyes for a moment before grabbing his forearms, almost desperately. "You have to promise you'll try as hard as you can or else I can't help you. I can't... mentor someone who isn't even going to try."

"Katniss, I don't want to die. I'm not going to throw myself in there and try to aimlessly throw my life away."

"That's what it sounded like you were saying back there with Haymitch."

"I was worked up. I thought he had a plan for all this..."

"He's not your mentor. He's not involved in these Games. I am. And I need you to respect me."

"You know I don't do well with authority, Katniss... but I'll try. But you need to listen to me too."

"I've never stopped listening to you, Gale. I know what you want. But you don't know what it's like in the Arena."

"It doesn't mean we can't try, does it?"

Katniss paused again, but then nodded. "I guess not."

"Please, I just... I have to try something. Anything. You made Hunger Games history, right? Well now you can do it again."

She sighed, but smiled up at him slightly. "You're just trying to out-do me, aren't you?"

"Exactly," he smiled back, jokingly of course.

"Knew it." She dug her short fingernails into his arms playfully before sobering slightly. "So, what do you want to do?"

"In terms of the games?"

"What else would I be talking about, Gale?"

He just shook his head a little with a small laugh before looking at her. "I want to learn more about what's blocking exit from the arena."

She frowned thoughtfully. "I'm not sure how we could figure that out."

"We'll figure out something," Gale sighed as he dropped his hands from her shoulders.

Katniss let go of his arms, frowning at the loss of contact. "Do you... feel any better? When I came in, you looked pretty upset."

He nodded. "It's just been a rough day... But it was good having someone actually listen to me."

She blushed, slightly embarrassed. "I'm sorry I yelled at you at dinner. We should have had this talk earlier."

"It's alright," Gale said before bringing his arms up, this time embracing her closely in a hug. His head rested lightly against the side of hers as he shut his eyes. Katniss's face flushed but she wrapped her arms tightly around Gale's waist, pressing her face against his neck, nodding slightly. He kept his arms around her, pressing her close for another few seconds before pulling only his head back. He stared down at her for a brief second, pushing back any doubts or uncertainty from his mind, before leaning down and pressing his lips to hers.

Katniss froze, staring for a brief moment, before curling her hands securely in his hair, closing her eyes, and kissing him back.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Peeta waited in his train room for Katniss. To occupy himself while she spoke with Gale, he had set up an unfinished painting on the only easel he brought with him for the trip. Unlike his other portraits, this piece has no gore to it but looked just as tranquil as all his others. Even though it was unfinished, the painting was obvious a dipiction of himself and Katniss during the games. The scene itself was of them in the cave, smiling and generally enjoying each other's company.<p>

With great care, Peeta continued his work on the smaller details of the piece. However, the longer it took for Katniss to arrive, the more his hand began to shake and the more his smile faded until he eventually had no more will to continue. Placing the brush inside a cup of water, Peeta sat down on his bed and stared at the woodwork of the door, mumbling the word "forever" in a reassuring tone to himself.


	21. Sponsors

A/N: We love our reviewers so much. But our memories are shit when it comes to names, so in the HG spirit, Lily and I have been refurring to some of our reviewers by nicknames. So I wanted to share a few with you all.

Cloud-Lover26 we have dubbed Anywhore, because we love that phrase that she puts in every review.

teamGale143 we have dubbed Gale Gal. If you're not a girl, we apologize and will re-dub you Gale Guy, but the Gale Gal seemed too be perfect.

Ellenka we have dubbed Well Write due to her very well written and highly complimentary comments.

And to our anonymous reviewer called 97 we call you RAWR PEETA RAWRRRRRRRR.

* * *

><p>Chapter 21. Sponsors<p>

After the long ride from District 12, the group had finally arrived at the Capitol. Nothing much had changed in the short break Katniss and Peeta had from it, bar a few new fashion trends. Peeta had looked particularly confused when he had passed a woman with gills and scales.

Effie led the pack through, showing them around. She gave them the grand tour of everything from where they would staying to where their makeup and wardrobe would be done. Gale looked particularly unamused during that portion but he had a general look of disgust over the Capitol as a whole. Madge, being the opposite of Gale, was staring out one of the large windows of the building at the Capitol's skyscrapers, amazed like a young child would be at the largeness of it all. Katniss held Peeta's hand quietly, not looking at Gale. Since their little session in his bedroom on the train, she was awkward and could scarcely look or talk to either of them. She was finding it hard to be in love Gale and yet be Peeta's loving "girlfriend" during the facade she knew she had to keep up especially well in the Capitol. The pink haired escort led them all to a lounge room before turning with a smile.

"And that's everything for now. I want you four to go get ready and be in your make-up and wardrobe rooms in one hour, mentors included."

"Why?" Gale hissed.

Haymitch, already having been with the teams of stylists, Cinna, and Portia, helping them get ready, stepped up behind them, unamused. What he wore was, as Cinna promised, not over the top, although he still looked miserable. He wore shiny black boots, tight-ish black pants and a dark purple shirt that was unbuttoned to the top of his chest. His eyes were lined with dark purple eyeliner and he crossed his arms tightly. "We apparently all have to look _fantastic_ for the cameras."

Gale's mood suddenly lifted and he held in the hardest of laughs aimed towards Haymitch.

Peeta's eyes widened at Haymitch, more so in shock that he actually complied with this. "Haymitch. You look..."

Haymitch narrowed his eyes at Peeta. "If you finish that sentence, I promise you will look ridiculous for the opening ceremonies."

Peeta pressed his lips together, saying nothing more.

"Good answer." Haymitch said, seething. He turned to Effie slowly, blaming her for this. "Anyway, Cinna and Portia have decided that, since there are only two stylists available for us, we'll do Peeta and Katniss first since they'll take less time then Madge and Gale."

Effie gave him a large smile back before patting him on the shoulder. "Look at you, actually doing your new job. And you look _marvelous_!"

He scowled. "I look like a fool and this is all your fault."

"I'll take the blame," she giggled before turning back to the group. "Well, you heard the assistant. Peeta, Katniss, head on over to the makeup and wardrobe department. This year, they want to interview everybody involved with the games, so you two will be interviewed while the chariots go. They'll have some sort of special announcements at the end of the showing, but it seems they're prepping for a big show."

Katniss didn't look up at her, but she let go of Peeta's hand with a soft and sarcastic "woo-hoo". Haymitch smirked and walked back into Cinna's prep room. Effie turned on her heel and started after him, motioning with her hand for Katniss and Peeta to follow. Katniss just frowned and followed Effie silently, Peeta at her side. As he did, his eyes shot around, looking at every corner of the rooms they passed before finally whispering, "It almost feels like we're going in there."

There was a long pause and, when Katniss finally spoke, her voice was choked and shaky. "I know."

* * *

><p>"No," Gale said sternly with a heavy level of defiance in his tone. "Absolutely not."<p>

Haymitch stood toward the window, his arms crossed, a pleased smirk on his face at Gale's discomfort.

Cinna stood in front of the sitting Gale, his three stylists behind behind him waiting impatiently for the boy to comply. In Cinna's hand was a dark grey and black leotard that looked like it was made of plastic. As it swayed, parts where the material creased glew a deep orange and red much like coals when heated appear. He held it out toward Gale. "It's a part of being a tribute."

"I'm not wearing that, end of story."

Cinna sighed and looked back at Haymitch. "Haymitch, go fetch Katniss please."

Haymitch sighed and nodded, leaving the room quickly. Octavia sighed as well, looking at Venia and Flavius and speaking to them quietly, but loud enough so Gale could hear. "Who knew a dreamboat could be so difficult?"

Venia snickered at her as Gale gave them all a disturbed glance.

Haymitch returned with Katniss after a few moments and they stopped in front of Gale. Katniss crossed her arms and looked at him, cheeks slightly pink. "What have you done now, Gale?"

"Nothing," he replied, crossing his arms.

"And that's exactly the problem!" Venia cried out, pouting her now violet lips. "He refuses anything!"

She paused, glancing back at the stylists. "He hasn't let you do _anything_?"

"No! No makeup, no clothing, nothing!"

Katniss stared at them for a while before looking back at Gale. "Gale! You knew you had to do this!"

"I am not wearing that skin tight... _thing_."

"Madge has to and so do you. You don't have a choice."

"Madge likes this kind of stuff though!"

"No one likes this kind of stuff!" She paused and glanced back at Cinna. "No offense."

She turned back to Gale and sighed. "Listen, Cinna is the best and he's yours right now. He's not going to make you look ridiculous. I was nervous about this as well, but he even managed to make me look beautiful. So stop being a baby."

Gale's eyes narrowed as he looked at her for a long, soundless moment before dropping his arms and leaning back. "Just don't show me any mirrors after you're done."

Katniss smiled and patted his arm. "That's the spirit." She turned to look back at the stylists. "Don't be afraid to be rough with him. It's the only way to get things done."

"You really are enjoying this, aren't you?" Gale sighed, putting a hand on his forehead.

"Always. In fact, I may sit in here just to watch you suffer." Gale just groaned before shutting his eyes, anticipating the worst.

* * *

><p>After Gale and Madge had gotten ready, Effie shooed the two off before any others could see them. Peeta stood in the hallway, aimlessly waiting for direction on where the two of them are supposed to go. Katniss stood silently next to Peeta, although not close enough that they were touching. She was staring down the hallway anxiously.<p>

"Who are we even waiting on?" Peeta asked, a little confused. "Effie is their escort, do we have one now?"

She paused and looked at him. "I don't know, maybe Haymitch or Cinna will come by or something... I'm so used to waiting for Effie."

"Same here. Even afterwards, she still pretty much acted like an escort to us back at District 12."

The two continued to wait for a long period of time, no one coming to get them. The longer he waited, the more and more anxious Peeta got until finally a Capitol man with dark purple and lavender hair walked by. He blinked at the two blankly, Peeta giving an almost identical stare back at him but for different reasons. Finally, he spoke up. "Aren't you two mentors?"

Katniss blinked and looked up from the floor and at the man blankly as well. "Um. Yes."

"Why are you here then? The chariots already started going out and the first announcement of the games was made."

Katniss looked at Peeta quickly. "Oops."

Peeta's eyes widened a little as he glanced back to Katniss. "No one came and got us or told was what to do next? How would we know that?"

The man laughed a little before starting to walk away. "I'm heading out now to relieve one of the cameramen, you can just follow me if you're scared you'll get lost."

Katniss sighed slightly before taking Peeta's hand and following the man. "Thanks."

The man led them out the door and down to the area where the reporters had already began to interview various mentors. The last chariot to drive out hosted the wire covered District 3 Tributes.

"We didn't miss too much then," Peeta sighed with relief.

Katniss sighed as well and nodded. "Only the careers and we want to stay away from them anyway."

Peeta nodded before looking back as a camera crew started their way towards them. Peeta nudged Katniss to be ready before holding her hand and kissing her lightly on the forehead, for show. Katniss glanced at him in surprise before seeing the cameras. She put a besotted smile on her face and touched his cheek lovingly.

The reporter looked like she was about to melt when she saw this but pushed on. "Katniss Everdeeen, Peeta Mellark, I would hate to interrupt such a loving moment! But if we could just bother you for a few moments..."

Katniss tore her eyes away from Peeta's like it was hard to do but smiled at the reporter. "Oh, of course."

"Thank you so much. Your Tributes haven't come out yet, but judging from your Reaping videos, it seems they are both around the same age as the two of you. Any possible background you could give us about Madge and Gale?"

Katniss glanced at Peeta for a brief second. "Oh, certainly. Madge is the daughter of our mayor and one of our dearest friends and Gale is the eldest of his 3 siblings. He supports his family alone and he's my oldest friend. Definitely... the best choice for a Tribute." She forced a smile.

"So then are the rumors true that you and Gale have, in the past, had a relationship? How does that bode with you and Peeta?" she inquired, practically force-feeding the microphone to Katniss.

Katniss yanked her head back from the microphone and quickly shook her head. "Oh, no, no, nothing romantic. Just friends. Only friends. Peeta's my... one and only." She stated, smiling gently at Peeta, even as images from her and Gale's steamy make out session on the train flashed in her mind.

Peeta gave her a small smile before giving her another kiss on the forehead. The reporter gave an approving and ecstatic squeak at this, before trying to pull her composure together. "Alright, now that the rumor has been laid to rest, one final question."

Katniss smiled up at Peeta before turning her head back toward the reporter.

"What do you make of the announcement President Coin gave concerning the removal of sponsor gifts in this year's Quarter Quell?" she smiled before putting the microphone up for them both. Katniss's eyes widened and she looked up at Peeta, her smile fading.


	22. Tour

Chapter 22. Tour

Peeta leaned down to the microphone to answer, avoiding Katniss's eyes. "While it is unfortunate, we have confidence in our Tributes. Don't forget I managed for quite awhile without getting any sponsor gifts myself. I'm certain we'll all be able to come up with a plan that will make up for the loss."

Katniss forced a smile and nodded at Peeta's answer, trying to look unsurprised. The reporter appeared satisfyed with this answer and thanked them before walking off. The instant she was away, Peeta turned to Katniss. "This is bad."

She stared at him. "Obviously. I mean, Gale didn't want any gifts anyway, but Madge..."

Peeta bit his bottom lip as he looked back to the District 11 chariots coming out. "We'll think about it later..."

Katniss fell quiet and nodded, turning back toward the chariots as well. After 11's chariot passed, it was finally time for Gale and Madge to make their appearance. The darkened chariot came out as the two of them stood inside. Gale looked particularly awkward at first in his leotard which gave off the impression of heated coals. He had allowed the stylists to dust his face with black powder, almost making his darkened hair look like it was made of the coal, and added accents of black chunks into his eyelashes. However, his stone stare was what made him particularly stiff. He tried his hardest to soften up a little, though in his mind it didn't matter at this point after the announcement with the gifts.

Madge was standing next to Gale in a black body suit that stopped at the top of her thighs, orange and red flickering gently around her chest. She wore black leather knee high boots and coal dust was swirled lightly over her pale skin and blond hair, making her sparkle darkly. She wasn't smiling either, but it added to the fierceness of the dark, thick eye makeup she wore.

Katniss wanted to laugh at Gale's discomfort but found it impossible to even muster a smile while her mind was racing a mile a minute, trying to figure out a way around this obstacle. Peeta could sense the anxiety building up in Katniss. Unannounced, he reached down to her and grasped her hand, squeezing it ever so gently. Katniss jumped slightly and she glanced up at Peeta, smiling slightly. "They could at least... smile."

"It sort of works for Madge but Gale..."

"He looks so... awkward."

Madge prodded Gale discreetly in the side, hoping to loosen him up, while she gave him the dangerous, superior, almost sultry look that Portia told her to try while wearing her outfit. Gale looked at her for a minute, a bit surprised by how well she seemed to be pulling off her look, before giving a small nod. He turned back towards the crowd and tried to relax fully as every set of eyes in Panem stared at them. The thought made him want to jump from the chariot but he knew that was out of the question.

Madge smirked before slowly sliding her hand down his side, almost sexually, before setting it back on her hip, cockily. Katniss raised her eyebrows at this, but the citizens of Panem cheered harder for it. Peeta gave a small laugh under his breath. "Thanks Portia."

Uknowningly as he smiled, from not too far, a set of sea green eyes stared intensely towards the two of them, unblinking. Katniss turned to him, eyebrows still raised. "Why do you blonds always win over the Capitol?" She paused after a beat, though, as her keen senses felt them being stared at. She frowned and looked around cautiously.

Never tearing her gaze away, the dark haired girl walked away from her fellow District 4 mentor, unannounced. Her stroll turned quickly brisk until she was standing right in front of Katniss and Peeta, eyes wide as saucers.

"She shouldn't..." she said in almost a mutter as her eyes now swayed back and forth to look at everything except them.

Katniss stared at her, unsure and uncomfortable. "She shouldn't... what? You're Annie Cresta... right?"

Annie's eyes shot back on Katniss as she bit her bottom lip so hard it almost threatened to bleed. There was obvious distress in her eyes and a heightened level of anxiety before she shut her eyes tightly. She nodded to answer Katniss's question but quickly put her hands over her ears.

Peeta looked down at the girl in an almost sympathetic way, but was still confused as to what she was trying to tell them. He looked around a little to try and figure out what it was she was referring to. "Do you mean Madge?"

Annie opened one eye slightly and stared up at him, but said nothing. Katniss furrowed her eyebrows before glancing at Peeta.

Almost immediately, her fellow mentor felt the loss of warmth at his side. Finnick Odair quickly walked over and enveloped Annie in his arms, not even acknowledging Peeta or Katniss. "Annie."

Slowly, the mad girl opened both her eyes and lowered her hands, but did not look at him. Her eyes trained up at Peeta, almost in a warning way. "She shouldn't... act... that."

"Why?" Peeta tried, wanting to figure out what reason Annie would have to warn him of this. He didn't think she was mentally stable enough to plan against them and it wouldn't matter now anyways with the sponsor gifts being taken away.

Finnick stroked Annie's hair once before noticing Peeta and Katniss. He turned his handsome face to look at both of them as if seeing them for the first time. Peeta looked up at Finnick, feeling incredibly awkward over the entire situation. He tried to push the feelings aside however and gave Finnick a small, forced smile. "Oh, you're Finnick Odair, right? Sorry about that, I'm Peeta Mellark..."

Finnick shook his head and automatically put his trademark smirk on his face, keeping Annie under his arm. "Oh, I know." He then smirked at Katniss, almost leering at her. "And Katniss Everdeen. It's a pleasure. Your Tributes look promising."

Katniss smiled, a bit uncomfortable at the way he was looking at her. Peeta's smile almost immediately dropped as he glanced back at Katniss then again to Finnick. He cleared his throat slightly. "As do yours."

Finnick turned his eyes back to Peeta and saw the look on his face. He dropped his smirk immediately, not wanting to get in a tussle with the beloved Peeta Mellark in front of all the cameras. "They're alright. Amur is decent. I saw Haymitch, he's a stylist now?" His eyes danced with mirth at the idea. "Tell him I said congratulations. Or, perhaps, I'll do it myself. I have a feeling we'll be seeing much more of each other."

Peeta nodded, though was a little surprised at himself for managing to intimidate Finnick enough to back off. "Yeah, I'm certain we-"

"In case she wins," Annie managed, like she had been trying to finish her sentence the entire time.

Finnick turned away from Peeta and Katniss as soon as Annie spoke, protectively. He took her face in his hands and forced her to look him in the eyes. "Annie, stop. Don't strain yourself..."

She bit her bottom lip again hard, saying nothing more as her eyes cast down on the ground. Her hands twitched, threatening to cover her ears again but instead she remained still, trying to listen to Finnick. Peeta frowned, but decided not to push anything with further questions.

Finnick watched her for a moment, stroking her hair comfortingly. "Come on, Annie. We've got to meet up with Amur and Willow in a bit. It's okay." He placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head and turned to look at Katniss and Peeta, albeit a little embarrassedly at their stares. Suddenly his face got slightly more serious, as if he were trying to tell them something without speaking it. "It was... nice meeting you two. Perhaps we'll be able to discuss alliances with your Tributes sometime."

Peeta tried to find the deeper meaning, but found himself wondering more about Finnick's character. From everything he ever heard about the man, Finnick was a bit of a player, the one everybody in the Capitol wanted. Seeing him acting so protectively over a little mad girl really changed Peeta's opinion of the man. He gave Finnick a small nod. "Yeah, that would be-"

Once again, Peeta was interrupted but this time it wasn't by Annie.  
>"Thank you, everybody, for your support!" Caesar Flickerman's voice was easily recognizable over the loud speaker. The chariots had just disappeared from the view of the audience and the show had ended. "How would you like to see more of these wonderful tributes?"<p>

Around them, the crowd roared with excitement. With the announcement that no sponsor gifts would be given, the people craved to somehow be a part of the Games in some new way.

"Then do I have an announcement for you! For the first time ever, our tributes will go on what will now be dubbed The Tribute's Tour. For the next few months leading to the Games, our 24 tributes will travel together to visit every District for special meetings with everybody of Panem!"

Katniss tore her eyes away from Finnick and Annie's retreating backs and looked at Peeta, almost blankly. "A tour. With all of us."

Peeta's eyebrows rose as he processed what was just said. Realization hit and he groaned. "The sponsor gifts were bad. This is worse..."

"How is it worse?"

"Gale," he simply said before looking back at her. "It's like they're playing into both our tributes' weaknesses. Madge needed the sponsor gifts and could easily have earned them, while Gale wants to find a way to save more then just the Victor. He'll want to make an alliance with everybody."

Katniss paused before nodding slightly, her face going from blank to anxious. "And there's nothing we can do."

"So stick close to your televisions, folks!" Caesar's voice rang once more. "The dates and schedule for the Tribute's Tour will be broadcast across the nation in one week's time! We hope you'll enjoy the shows!"


	23. Training

Chapter 23. Training

Effie took lead as she rattled on about the schedule for the day to Gale, Madge, Katniss, and Peeta. Apparently, President Coin along with the new Head Gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee had changed a lot of the previous traditions for the Quarter Quell, putting bonus stress on Effie.

"And, another change our Head Gamemaker decided to _throw_ at us," she spat, obviously irritated, "is the permitted observation of Tributes by their mentors. This is said to _supposedly_ aid the mentors and Tributes more since the subtraction of the sponsor gifts."

Katniss was leaning against a nearby wall, listening to Effie quietly, while Madge looked slightly alarmed at how upset Effie was, not used to her personality yet. Katniss paused and looked up at her. "Why supposedly? It would help to see what the Tributes can do."

"Because it interferes with the interview I had scheduled for you and Peeta MONTHS AGO!" she snapped, gripping her calendar book tightly. "So far, not a single thing has gone as planned and I, for one, cannot take all these sudden curve balls they keep throwing at us!"

Madge jumped and Katniss raised an eyebrow, patting Effie's shoulder slightly. "We can always do the interview and then if there's time, watch Madge and Gale? It's not that big of a deal, Effie."

"And have the two of you show up late to a meeting of all the mentors _again?_ I swear, whenever I figure out who they had scheduled to escort you to the chariots display, I will personally hunt them down and give them a lecture!"

Katniss just frowned. "We got there eventually."

"You should have gotten there _promptly."_

"We got there early enough to see Gale and Madge being awkward. I think that's good enough."

"The point was to gauge all tributes, not just your own! Though, I must admit, Madge performed rather well." Effie turned to Madge with a small smile. "Keep up the good work and they'll be..." She was about to finish with 'showering you with gifts' when she remembered the ban on them this year. She gave out a frustrated sigh.

Madge smiled slightly at the praise and then shrugged, good naturedly, her old optimism slowly coming back after the loss of it during the Reaping. "I don't need gifts. I'll be fine on my own."

Effie gave her a spirited smile before sighing. "Back on schedule, we need to head over to the training quarters. They'll be starting the stations soon for you all to train at."

Peeta immediately looked over to Madge. "Do you have any ideas on what you want to try training at?"

Madge shook her head quietly, chewing on her bottom lip, realizing her dread at this part. "I'm not sure what I'd be good at, if anything."

Effie said nothing before turning down the hall, expecting everybody to follow her. Gale, who had been particularly quiet, was the first to follow, anxious to see all the tributes together in one area. Katniss followed Gale quietly, head down, while Madge walked next to Peeta.  
>Peeta followed, looking to her. "Well, when I went in, all I really did was lifting because of all the hard work I used to do for... the bakery," he forced out before shaking his head a little, trying to push his mother out of his mind. "Is... there anything you like to do at home that's even a little bit physical?"<p>

She shook her head slightly. "The only thing I really do at home is play the piano. It soothed my mother, but... I don't know. Nothing too physical, although when I was younger, my father had me in fencing and I was decent at darts. But I don't suppose any of those will help me in the Arena."

"They might. If my knowledge of color because of icing cakes helped me escape being caught by the Careers, then those will most certainly help. You can't count yourself out yet." Peeta was trying his hardest to get her to show at least the smallest amount of confidence. He knew she pretty much already counted herself out and was trying to put on a smile for everybody else's sake, but right now, he needed her to worry about herself.

She looked at him with a doubtful smile like she knew what he was doing, and she shrugged slightly. "Thanks, Peeta."

Eventually, Effie took the four to the door to the training room. She stopped before the door and looked back at the group. "Well, this is as far as I can go. I'll be right here to take you all back after the training sessions," she spoke with no enthusiasm in her voice at all, the stress starting to catch up to her.

Katniss smiled at Effie briefly, nodding, before Madge touched her shoulder gently. "It's okay, Effie, we'll try our best to make all your scheduling work out."

Effie smiled slightly at Madge before putting her calendar book away. "It's not your fault, Madge. Just go in there and do the best you can."

Madge smiled at her doubtfully, but followed Katniss as she opened the door and walked into the training center. As Peeta and Gale followed the girls, Effie tried to force a smile as she waved them all in.

Inside, about half of the Tributes had already begun at the various training stations. Many were at the different combat based stations, leaving stations dedicated to camouflage and trap setting bare. Alongside the tributes, many mentors too stood directing them but Gale noticed the number of tributes was larger then mentors.

"Not all the mentors are here," he blinked at Katniss.

"They probably don't think it's worth it," Peeta sighed pessimistically.

Katniss scowled slightly, eyeing the smaller crowd of mentors. "It's nice to know they have so much faith in their Tributes." she sighed, sarcastically.

Peeta shook his head before looking at Madge. "What station do you want to try first?"

Madge was eyeing the Tributes at the various battle stations, hesitantly. "I... don't know if I could handle those weapons. What would you suggest?"

"Start with something small, maybe. How about camoflague or trap setting?" Madge smiled slightly at Peeta and nodded before heading over to the ghost town that was the trap setting station.

Katniss narrowed her eyes at Gale. "Look at Madge, such a good Tribute, asking for advice."

Gale, however, was too distracted by the other tributes to even hear Katniss. His eyes bounced around from station to station, surveying the other tributes as if trying to find somebody. A small, dark skinned boy moved from a large group of Careers working with arrows, uninterested, and moved quietly to the plant tasting station, alone.

"Gale!" Katniss stomped her foot.

Gale blinked before looking back at Katniss, like he had just remembered she was there. "What?"

She stared at him in disbelief before crossing her arms. "Nothing. Go do what you want, don't ask your mentor who has done this before."

He bit his lip before sighing. "Alright, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. What do you think I should do?"

"Thank you." She uncrossed her arms but still looked slightly peeved. "Don't go for the obvious. You're good with knives, decent with arrows, and excellent with traps. You're okay with camouflage, you could use improvement, but you know barely anything about edible and inedible plants. In the Arena, that knowledge is crucial."

"I'm not that-," he started but quickly cut himself off, reminding himself that was where the boy was. He turned his attention towards the station before smiling back slightly back at Katniss. "...I guess you're right. Thanks, Catnip."

Katniss blinked at his agreement and glanced at the station and then back at Gale, her face hardening. "Or maybe you should do something else."

"I'll try something else later." Before she could even argue with him, he turned and started over towards the station.

"... damn." She sighed before heading over to stand with the other mentors.

* * *

><p>The woman standing at the plant station seemed almost too excited as Gale walked over. She had been in the middle of showing the younger boy the difference between poisoned dark colored berries and blackberries when Gale joined to observe as well. Out of all the stations there, this one was probably the most dull to him but he knew he needed to be there. For multiple reasons.<p>

The small boy glanced up at Gale as well as he joined them but didn't say anything. He just looked back at the berries shyly. After another fifteen minutes of going through various berries at a rate Gale hardly could keep up at, the station worker handed both of them a bowl of very similar looking berries. "Now, I want you two to take these and pick out all the poisonous ones."

Gale stared down at the bowl, which had about thirty berries mixed together. Slowly, his gaze went back at the woman, disbelief in his eyes. "You're kidding me..."

The boy smiled slightly at Gale, as if he was being funny, taking one of the bowls. Gale let out a frustrated sigh as he grabbed the other bowl. He sat himself down on the floor before picking up the first berry form the bowl, trying to remember everything from the woman's rushed lessons. His mind was blank, filled only with curse words towards her and her ridiculous challenge.

The boy sat down a few feet from Gale, slowly going through his berries, thoughtfully. He glanced up at Gale, catching his facial expression. "That one's bad."

Gale blinked, a little caught off guard before looking at him. He stared for a second before staring back at the berry. "How can you tell?"

The boy scooted closer to Gale and pointed at the berry. "It's hahrd and hahrd to squish. The squishy ones are safe." He was so young, he couldn't even say his "R"s correctly yet.

Gale smiled slightly at the boy's way of talking but then looked back down at the berry. He paused for a moment. "You're from 11, aren't you? This probably comes easier for you then, doesn't it?"

He shrugged a little, looking at his bowl shyly. "I guess so. We ahn't allowed to do much besides pick the twees or else..." He trailed off, squeezing one of the berries and nodding, putting it to the side.

Gale's eyebrows furrowed a little, but he decided not to press the matter. He turned back to his berries and started to squeeze one. However, he squeezed it a little too hard and jumped as the berry splattered onto his neck and face. "Oops..."

The boy looked up at Gale in surprise for a moment before bursting out into little giggles. Gale laughed a little with him as he wiped his face with the back of his sleeve. Once it was gone, he turned back to the little boy, smiling. "You're much better at this then I am. Oh, my name's Gale, by the way."

The boy's giggles subsided before he smiled at Gale. "I'm Sage."

Katniss's arms had become crossed again as she stared at Gale and Sage. She frowned, concerned that Gale was befriending a child that reminded her so much of Rue and how much it would hurt him if, but more likely when, Sage died. Standing next to her, Peeta could almost sense the distress she was feeling. Almost cautiously, he reached over and grabbed hold of her hand, looking at her. "It'll be okay."

Katniss tensed slightly and pulled her hand away. "No, it's not. He's an idiot."

Peeta bit his bottom lip. "Do you think it would be better if they had no alliances?"

"I started off with no alliances and clearly, I did fine."

"Yeah, but I did the opposite and it was only because of alliances that I survived."

She paused and looked at Peeta. "Gale is going to be like me in the Arena, though. Madge, however, is more like you. That kid is going to end up getting killed, like..." She trailed off and just looked at Gale and Sage again. "Gale will be devastated."

"Maybe he has a plan?"

She snorted. "I doubt it. That kid is just pulling his heart strings."

Peeta sighed before looking over towards the other mentors. "Do you think maybe... we should be talking with the others? I probably should for Madge's sake, at least..."

Katniss pressed her lips together and looked back at the other mentors. "I guess, probably... I don't know where to start."

While a good chunk of the mentors were missing, there was still a decent number of them nearby, observing their own tributes. Among them stood Annie and Finnick, though Annie seemed distracted or disinterested in watching Amur practice his climbing skills. Like at the chariot's parade, her eyes were turned and focused on Katniss and Peeta. However, when her gaze met with theirs, she immediately looked away and towards Madge at the traps station. Finnick stroked Annie's hair without thinking as she looked around while he watched Willow practicing throwing knives at a board.

Peeta looked slightly uncomfortable due to Annie's gaze but looked back at Katniss. "Maybe we should go talk to the District 4 mentors again... Finnick had mentioned alliances and you did put down his Tribute for a possible ally..."

Katniss nodded, even though Finnick made her nervous with his leering. "Haymitch did say Finnick is a friend of his, so we know he's trustworthy."

Peeta nodded. He considered reaching for Katniss's hand again, but decided against it and started his way towards Finnick and Annie. Katniss just followed Peeta, glancing over at Gale and Sage while doing so. Still at the station, Gale was smiling and laughing with the younger boy. As he did so, he caught sight of Katniss from the corner of his eye before locking gazes with her. Regardless of the smile on his face and how happily he seemed to be speaking to Sage, there was a small hint of sorrow and sympathy in his eyes. Katniss stumbled for a second after locking eyes with Gale, catching the look he had, but she quickly looked away as she felt her eyes stinging.


	24. Eyes

Chapter 24. Eyes

Finnick looked at Peeta and Katniss when they got closer. "Katniss! Peeta! To what do we owe this pleasure?"

Peeta tried to force on the best smile he had, though it was somewhat difficult. Peeta found that he didn't particularly like Finnick Odair that much, though probably due to the way he looked at Katniss. But for Madge's sake, he knew he had to associate with him. "At the chariot parade, you talked about alliances. We figured that might not be too bad of an idea."

Katniss kept her eyes on the floor while Finnick eyed them both for a moment. He looked at Willow and then Amur, and then at Gale and Madge. His eyebrows rose slightly. "Well... Gale looks capable, but he seems to be preoccupied with the boy, who is not going to be useful in an alliance. And Madge looks rather..." He trailed off and sighed, looking back at Peeta. "Who am I to judge? I'll talk to Amur and Willow and see how they feel."

Peeta bit down on his bottom lip, but Annie spoke up next. "Okay."

Finnick paused and looked down at Annie. Annie didn't look up at him but kept her eyes trained on Madge. Slowly, she turned her gaze towards Katniss and Peeta, eyes widened again. Finnick curled an arm around Annie and looked at Peeta and Katniss as well. "Okay, then. We're in."

"That easily?" Peeta blinked as he looked down towards Annie. She seemed to have an interest in Madge, but Peeta just couldn't figure out why.

"That easily. Annie wants it, so I do too."

Katniss smiled slowly at Finnick and Annie, thinking of how real their love was and how it showed in everything Finnick did for her. "That's good enough for us."

Annie looked up towards Finnick with a very slight smile before turning back towards Amur and Willow. Peeta, on the other hand, looked slightly concerned. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you tributes like? So we can talk to Gale and Madge about it."

"Talk to them," Annie said suddenly without looking back at Katniss and Peeta. Finnick just turned back to watch the District 4 Tributes as well, placing his chin on the top of Annie's head. At first, Peeta thought she might have been just repeating what he said, but then it registered what she meant. He turned back towards Katniss.

Katniss looked at Peeta and raised an eyebrow slightly. "I guess we're talking to Willow and Amur."

"Seems like it..." Peeta said before looking towards Amur, slightly not wanting to be the one to get to know him.

She paused, glancing over as well, before looking at Willow. "Let's... try her first."

Peeta quickly agreed before turning and thanking Annie and Finnick briefly. He turned back towards Willow and walked alongside Katniss towards her station.

As Katniss and Peeta approached Willow, she quickly turned as if sensing them, her long brown ponytail swinging behind her. Her green eyes found them with ease and she dropped her knife so it was held loosely at her side.

Peeta cautiously walked over with a small smile. "You're Willow, right?"

Katniss followed him, eyeing her carefully. Willow nodded, looking up at them both slightly due to her smaller stature. "And you're Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen. What can I do for you?"

"We were just talking to your mentor, Finnick, and he thought it would be a good idea for us to come and speak with you. As long as that's alright with you, of course."

She raised her eyebrows as if slightly surprised and tucked her knife into the holster swung loosely around her waist. "Sure. What are we talking about?"

"We were wondering what you thought about our tributes, Madge and Gale?" he started, trying to gauge her personality and opinions on everything first. She seemed a little withdrawn and cautious, which was good, but at the same time he worried about what she actually might be thinking.

Willow glanced at Gale and Madge briefly before looking back at Peeta. "To be honest, I'm not sure. Madge seems a bit... sweet, which is not a good thing to be in the Arena. And Gale is hanging around with that little boy, although he looks more capable. I haven't seen what they can do yet."

Peeta smiled a little. She seemed smart. "You're really observant. We were hoping that maybe you'd consider an alliance with our tributes, but I understand what you mean. They're both keeping their talents a secret, so I guess to everyone it doesn't seem like they'd be good partners."

She seemed to think about that for a moment. "Smart, I guess. Everyone's going to want to be in an alliance with them since they're being mentored by you two. I just want to be sure whoever I choose to ally with is worth my time and is useful. If Finnick feels Madge and Gale are reliable, I trust him."

This slightly caught Peeta off-guard. "Alliance because of us?"

She eyed him as if he were slightly stupid for not understanding. "Of course." She lowered her voice, looking at him meaningfully. "You tricked the Capitol. You're the most famous Victors in at least a several decades, but arguably ever. Surely your Tributes will be impressive."

Peeta opened and closed his mouth before giving her another smile, trying to make it seem like she was complimenting him. However, all this did was build up a new anxiety. Everyone was expecting Gale and Madge to be great because of himself and Katniss. Regardless of the fact Willow said many would want them as allies, he now feared that even more were going to target Gale and Madge specifically. "Thanks, Willow."

Katniss's face fell and she didn't bother trying to force a grin. Willow gave Peeta a slight smile that didn't look natural on her face before turning back to her training. After she turned, Peeta immediately went closer to Katniss. His voice dropped to almost a whisper. "I don't think we have a choice now. We need to have Gale and Madge build alliances."

Katniss nodded without hesitation. "The Careers are going to be after them for sure."

"Luckily, we have one of the Districts the Careers are usually from on our side."

She nodded slightly, speaking low. "She seems smart, especially for being only fifteen. Good with knives. How do you feel about her?"

"I'm actually a little worried about having her on the team." Peeta admitted as he started to walk a bit away from her station. "She's too hard to read and kind of emotionless."

Katniss followed next to him and paused before nodding slightly. "I can see that. Maybe she's just focused on the Games."

"I'd still be careful about her. Now him..."

Peeta's gaze and walk stopped when Amur came into his line of vision. The 37 year old man had climbed all the way to the ceiling, dangling from the rope that had been hung for the exercise.

Katniss paused, looking over too. She sighed, patting Peeta on the shoulder, smirking slightly. "I'll handle this one. I know you're scared. Poor Peeta."

"I'm not _scared_. He's just a slightly intimidating man..."

"He's not... that bad." She lied, starting toward Amur slowly. Amur waited a few moments from the ceiling. His eyes danced around the training hall, trying to memorize every face in the room until his eyes met with Katniss. Katniss turned her eyes up toward his and smiled hesitantly. The instant she smiled at him, he got the message that she wanted to talk. He turned back to the rope and slid down at a speed that looked like it surely should have burned his palms, but he did not wince. Once his feet hit the ground, he nodded at the teacher at the station before walking towards Katniss. He practically towered over her in height and his gaze downward at her only added to his frightening appearance.

Katniss, however, looked straight up at him fearlessly. "Hello, Amur? I was wondering if I could speak to you."

"Of course," he nodded. His voice was surprisingly softer then expected.

She gave him a winning smile. "Well, Peeta and I were speaking to Annie and she thought an alliance with our Tributes would be a good idea. I was wondering how you felt about that."

"Out of any here, yours were the Tributes I wished to alliance myself with the most, Miss Everdeen," he nodded back at her. While he did not crack any smile back and his face never softened, his tone and words were nothing short of respectful towards her.

She nodded at him, all business. "I'm glad. You're sure to be a good asset. May I ask why you're interested in them? I'm curious as to how the other Tributes are viewing them."

Amur turned his head back towards Gale and Madge. "It's not them I have the opinion of. It's you."

The only sign of Katniss's nervousness were her fiddling hands. She thought back to her and Peeta's conversation with Willow. "Me?"

"You and Mr. Mellark's performance at the previous Hunger Games, your mother's deeds against President Snow, the interference at her execution... Whether it be through the two Victors from District 12's actions directly or those who surround them, you both radiate a strength that has proven to rival Panem's." His head turned back down towards Katniss. "Because of this, I want to help you."

Katniss simply pressed her lips together, overcome with emotion. She forced a smile on her face and nodded. "Thank you, Amur. You're not nearly as intimidating as you appear."

He gave her a small smile back. "I did not plan to survive these Games so I'll focus on doing my best so they do."

She smiled slightly, nodding a little, before turning and walking back to Peeta. Peeta had been watching the two from a distance, a look of slight concern and confusion on his face. He took a few steps towards her, to meet her halfway. "How did it go?"

She smiled at him slightly, relieved. "Definitely an ally. He's, surprisingly, probably the nicest guy in this center."

"Seriously?" Peeta blinked.

"Seriously. He's a big fan of ours."

Peeta let out the largest sigh he could, relief flushing over him. "Thank goodness, I was worried about him..."

She smiled, patting his shoulder. "I know. He's less intimidating than little Willow, so you don't have to worry anymore. He said he definitely wants to help."

"That's great! Do you think that's enough then? Or is there anybody else we want to try?"

Almost on cue, a huge commotion came from the area the Gamemakers sat at. Peeta immediately turned and looked as the female tribute from District 3 hurled a metal discus towards the Gamemakers. The discus froze in mid-air for a second before flying back towards the girl. Her mentor, a dark haired man with ill fitting glasses, grabbed her by the arm and yanked her out of the way before it could strike.

There was a moment of dead silence in the room before the white haired District 3 girl pulled herself from her mentor's grasp and looked at the discus, which was glowing red from heat.

Katniss stared at the Tribute and her mentor. She didn't even hesitate before stating, strongly, "District 3."

Peeta looked back towards Katniss and couldn't help but smile. "I figured."

* * *

><p>Down the long hallways, Effie walked with her calender book and pen in her hands as her shoulder held up a mobile phone to her ear. She attempted to write and talk at the same time, but had very little to pen down.<p>

"What do you mean you need to cancel? We've had this interview scheduled for the past two months now! You're the fifth person I've had to change dates around with and I really see no other way to squeeze you in!"

_"I'm sorry, Ms. Trinket, but a last minute change on our end came about and we need to do coverage elsewhere."_

"And what, if you don't mind me asking, is more important than interviewing the famous star-crossed lovers of District 12 and their promising first Tributes?"

_"We're not at liberty to say, Ms. Trinket. However, we need to board trains for District 8 immediately."_

"Fine!" she shouted before hanging up the phone, angry. As she turned to pocket the device, the eyes of a Peacekeeper from across the hall locked with her's. The man stared at Effie for a long, awkward moment before turning and walking off. Effie blinked before straightening up with a huff. "Doesn't he know it's rude to stare? I would have thought Peacekeepers were taught better manners then..."

As she continued her rant to nobody and her trek onward, her nerves began to build more and more. Glancing left and right, it seemed every time she passed a hallway, a different Peacekeeper watched her. Soon, her speed began to increase from a casual stroll into a full out, paranoia driven sprint. She had no idea what she was running from or what the Peacekeepers would even want with her, but she wanted to get as far away from them as possible and towards the living quarters.

Haymitch was lurking around the corridors near said living quarters, trying to find an Avox to get him a drink. He paused when he heard the familar clacking of heels echoing off the walls. He smirked and creeped closer until Effie passed his hallway and jumped out behind her, grabbing her shoulder. Effie's scream echoed throughout the hallway and possibly the rest of the building as she instantly fell to her knees when she felt the hand grab her. "I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" she yelled, not even looking back to see who it was as she put her hands over her head, like she was guarding herself from something.

He frowned, pulling his hand back quickly. He kneeled next to her, hesitantly. "Effie? Are you okay?"

Her eyes immediately flung open and her hands lowered as she stared towards Haymitch. Her cheeks turned from pink with blush to red with embarrassment almost instantly. She tried to regain her composure. "Oh, H-Haymitch! You shouldn't s-sneak up on a girl like that, it's very rude and ill-mannered and..." She still couldn't shake the panic in her voice.

He ignored her and set one of his hands over hers. "Effie, what happened? You're so... panicked. Shaky."

She pulled her hand up from his and started to wave him off with it. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Really, I think the stress is just getting to me."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "That's not it."

"Of course that's it, Haymitch. You know, I haven't eaten properly today and my sleep schedule has been different the past few days, so that could cause me to be seeing things as well," she began to ramble as she stood up.

He slowly stood up as well. "You fell to the ground, yelling that you didn't do anything, and covered your head like I was going to bash it in."

"I over-reacted, it happens to the best of us," she started to cross her arms as she looked to Haymitch but something behind him stopped her. Her panic rising again, she jumped closer towards Haymitch and grasped his arm tightly, like for him to shield her.

"Ms. Trinket?" a Peacekeeper asked from behind Haymitch, standing in the hallway she had run out from. "Your tributes will be finished training soon."

Haymitch slowly turned around and saw the Peacekeeper. He narrowed his eyes. "Are you jokers following her?'

The Peacekeeper looked down at Haymitch, but Effie let go of his arm. "O-oh, no no, it's fine Haymitch," she cleared her throat a little. "Is it that time already? My schedule must really be off."

"If you cannot keep to your Tributes' schedule, Ms. Trinket, we can find them a replacement for you. It would not be difficult." His tone almost sounded like a threat which, even though she can be airheaded to other's emotions at times, Effie could sense strongly.

Haymitch narrowed his eyes further, clenching his fists. "All she's doing is her job, champ. Maybe you should leave her alone."

The Peacekeeper hardly even acknowledged Haymitch's presence. He just smirked in an almost sinister manner towards Effie before walking back down the hallway. As she watched him vanish, Effie could feel the water build up behind her eyes, threatening to fall. She had no idea why, but she never felt so scared in her life.


	25. Stress

Chapter 25. Stress

Katniss slowly sat down in the District 12 living quarters in between Gale and Madge, quietly as if thinking hard. Haymitch stood slightly off to the side against a wall, but close enough to give his imput as well as listen to the conversation.

Katniss cleared her throat. "So. Alliances."

Gale looked up almost instantly and towards her. "Big shocker, but I want Sage."

"I know and I've accepted the fact that it's going to happen regardless. However, Peeta and I have-"

Madge suddenly spoke up quietly. "I have someone I want too."

Peeta blinked and looked down at Madge. "Madge?"

"I want the mother. Rye. From District 9."

Katniss rolled her eyes. "Absolutely not."

"To be honest, her and Sage are probably the two you guys should avoid most," Peeta sighed. "You two are going to get too attached."

Madge sighed and shook her head. "She has children. Four of them. You can't expect..."

Katniss cut her off. "Exactly. She's selfish. She brought four children into this world. You shouldn't make alliances with people like that."

"You shouldn't make alliances with people you'll grow attached to," Peeta added, trying to make Katniss's statement seem a little less harsh. "Only one person can live."

Katniss merely snorted and crossed her arms. Madge lowered her eyes slightly and shrugged. "I guess... I just wanted to help her."

She looked up and locked eyes with Peeta. "Please stop trying to dance around this. I'm going to die, Peeta. There's not even a question. If I can help someone else live a bit longer, that's good enough for me."

"Madge, stop it. You're not even trying!"

"Even if I tried my hardest, it wouldn't make a difference."

"You don't know how things will go in there!" Peeta stood up and looked at her, a fire in his eyes now. "Everything I've tried to do and tell you to do, you've just blown off! I'm trying to help you! Now you're going to start worrying about yourself and you're going to put up a fight! Unless you really want to die that badly, then I might as well just give up now!"

Madge shrunk back, frightened at Peeta's outburst. She just lowered her eyes and didn't say anything. Katniss shot him a look. "Peeta."

"I can't keep doing this if she's not going to even try, Katniss!"

She stood up, narrowing her eyes. "She's scared! You can't yell at her like that!"

"She's given up! Everybody's scared going in, but they still try! And if she keeps this up, she's going to be ill-prepared!"

Katniss pressed her lips together before sitting back down between Madge and Gale. She took Madge's hand carefully. "She's scared and I would be too. She has no skills like the majority of the Tributes do. But, Madge, if you'll let me, we'll take these upcoming months and I'll teach you how to use a bow. And then maybe you'll feel more confident."

Madge nodded slowly, not looking up at either of them.

"She used to fence," Peeta started, looking to Katniss. "She took fencing, she knows how to throw darts, and she can play piano. She already has two weapons she could expand upon and good hand-eye cordination from playing piano."

Madge looked up at Peeta, eyes slightly wet, amazed he had actually paid attention to her.

Katniss patted Madge's leg gently. "Then you already have skills in both close contact and distance. We'll expand on them. Swords and, since there's rarely anything dart-related, a bow since that has to do with aim as well. And we'll all be fine. And we'll all s_top yelling._" She looked at Peeta meaningfully. Peeta just sat back down without another word and looked away from everybody. He was beyond frustrated with the situation but tried to stay calm.

Katniss cleared her throat. "Good. Now. Alliances. I'm going to advise you both not to get mixed up with either Sage nor Rye. You're not going to listen, but I wanted to put it out there. Also- Peeta and I talked with both Willow and Amur from District 4 and they're interested in alliances."

"That's a career District. Can we really trust them?" Gale finally spoke up, ignoring the part about Sage.

Haymitch spoke up quietly. "Finnick and Annie are good people. They can be trusted."

Katniss nodded slightly. "Despite Finnick being a bit of a creep, they seem trustworthy. Willow is a bit stand off-ish, but she's smart and good with knives. Amur has size on his side and he's extremely nice. They both admitted being impressed by Peeta and I and wanting to help."

Gale nodded. "Sounds good to me. Any others?"

"District 3. We haven't spoke to them yet, but if you guys noticed the girl..."

"The one who threw the discus at the Gamemakers?" Gale blinked. When Katniss nodded, he continued. "You don't think that would mean she's too reckless?"

She frowned. "I shot an arrow at the Gamemakers. Does that make me reckless?"

"A little," Peeta spoke up with a small laugh.

She made a slight face at him and crossed her arms. "No. It means she's spirited."

"You haven't even talked to her yet?" Gale spoke up again. "How do we even know she'll want to help?"

She looked at him blankly. "She threw a discus at the Gamemakers. That's an act of bravery as well as one of rebellion. Why else would she have done it?"

"I don't know, but it seemed so out of the blue when she did it. I mean, she didn't yell at them or fight with them or anything. She just threw a discus up and then went to pick it up when it came back."

"... maybe she's just crazy." She shrugged. "I guess we'll see when we speak with her. But until then, both Tributes from District 3 are under consideration."

Peeta nodded before looking up at Haymitch. "Do you know the mentors from there?"

Haymitch nodded, looking up at the group. "Wiress and Beetee. They're friends as well. A little... strange, but smart."

"Strange?" Peeta asked, his mind going back to Annie.

"They're..." Haymitch searched for the right words. "Wiress is... shy. She'll start sentences, and Beetee will have to finish them. They're nice, but I would speak to Beetee instead of Wiress."

"I think he's the one who's mentoring the girl, anyways," Peeta nodded.

"Anybody else then? Or is that everyone invited to the party?" Gale joked as he stood up, stretching.

Katniss rolled her eyes and looked up at him. "That's all."

"Amur, Willow, and District 3 girl... I guess tomorrow I'll have to pay attention to them," he sighed before slowly looking over towards Haymitch. He stared, as if he wanted to ask a question, but shook his head a little instead.

Haymitch paused and blinked at Gale. "What?"

"She seemed more freaked out when we picked us up from training."

Haymitch looked at Gale for a moment before nodding. "I know."

"Any reason for that?"

Peeta blinked up at the two of them, curiously. Since they all watched the tapes on the Quarter Quell, it seemed like Haymitch and Gale did nothing but butt heads. It was odd seeing them talk without glaring so randomly and about Effie, none the less. Haymitch shrugged. "I found her before... I think the Peacekeepers are following her around. One threatened to fire her."

"Fire Effie?" Peeta joined in, but Gale ignored him. His eyes were focused fully on Haymitch, like he was trying to gauge what exactly happened just by reading the man.

"You better stay close to her."

Haymitch's eyes didn't leave Gale's face. He smirked slightly. "I intend to."

* * *

><p>Regardless of the fact Katniss wanted everybody to meet to discuss the other tributes, Effie was too freaked out to want to even leave her room. She knew the Peacekeepers were staring her down, but what she couldn't figure out was why. She had done the best she could as an escort so why would they threaten to fire her? She brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly on her bed, not even bothering to take her shoes off as the well mannered Effie would normally do.<p>

Haymitch left Madge, Katniss, and Peeta in the living quarters and walked to Effie's room, concerned for her. Remembering his manners, he knocked instead of barging in. Regardless, Effie still jumped and stared down the door. She remained silent, uncertain who was there, and hoped they would leave if she made it seem like she wasn't there.

Haymitch paused and set his palm against her door. He cleared his throat and knocked softly again. "Eff?"

Effie paused before scrambling to her feet. Cautiously, she walked to the door and started to unlock it. "Y-yes?"

"I was just... concerned. Can I come in?"

With a click, the door unlocked and opened slightly. Effie opened it just enough to peek outside, making sure it was really him, before opening it the rest of the way. She looked a mess, her wig lopsided and clothing wrinkled from laying in bed in them. Silently, she looked up at him. He gave her a strained smile and reached out to straighten her wig a little. "Are you okay?"

"Do I look okay?"she murmured as her eyes cast down. Slowly, she abandoned the door and walked back towards her bed, leaving it open for him to come in. "They've been doing this to me."

Haymitch slowly followed her inside and shut the door quietly behind him. "You always look good, Effie. Is this the first day this has happened?"

She nodded but hid her face in her hands as she sat down. "Y-yes, but... it makes more sense now. All the schedule changes and cancellations..."

Haymitch paused for a brief moment before walking over and sitting next to her. "You don't know that's the reason."

"Everything that's happened so far with the Games has been a disadvantage to the Tributes, why wouldn't they target me too!" she cried, shaking. "Them threatening to replace me was just proof! They're trying to get rid of me!"

He paused again before rubbing her back gently. "Effie, this is what they want. They want you to get flustered, so that the District 12 Tributes will lose the best escort available."

"I'm scared." She spoke in a whisper so low, it was hard for Haymitch to hear. "I know what they can do... D-do you think this is because of...?"

He looked down at her. "Because of what?"

She shook her head suddenly as she shook even harder. She was finding it harder and harder to speak as the symptoms of an oncoming anxiety attack threatened to wash over her. Haymitch chewed on his bottom lip before taking her face in his hands, forcing her face to look up at his. "Effie. Focus on me, okay? You're alright. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. If they try, they'll have to go through me."

Effie's reddened eyes met with Haymitch's as she still continued to shake. Slowly, she put her quivering hands on top of his in an attempt to calm herself, but her mind continued to race.

Haymitch watched Effie for a moment before pressing his lips against her forehead. "You're okay, Effie. Focus on your job and what you do best and know that I'm looking out for you."

Effie's face suddenly turned red as she pulled her head back slightly. She moved one of her hands from on top of Haymitch's and placed it on her forehead before looking up at him. "... I'm sorry," she finally managed to talk as she shivered less. "I'm... being so paranoid..."

"No, you're not." He dropped his hands from her face and set them on her shoulders. "But I don't want you to worry about anything. You have enough on your plate."

"Do you think they're going to come after me?"

He looked down at her and, for one of the first times in his life, felt a strong desire to lie. "No... no, you'll be okay."

Effie, never being good at reading people, let out a relieved sigh before forcing herself to smile slightly. "T-thanks, Haymitch."

He forced a smile back at her, scratching the back of his neck. "Anytime, Eff."

She dropped her head down, the smile still on her face but the redness starting to return. "I-I'm... glad you agreed to come to the Capitol with us..."

He smiled at the top of her head and shrugged. "I am too. Even if the kids are rude and I look like a fool, at least I... have you." He mumbled the ending and looked away. Effie looked up at him again, her smile a lot less forced. She reached down, brushing some of the wrinkles out of her jacket and pants before pulling out her trusty calendar book and pen from her pocket.

"I guess I should be getting back to work then."

He looked at her and smiled slightly, standing up and running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, you should."

She fixed her wig a little more before standing up beside him. She went to walk towards the door, but stopped herself. He went to follow her out but stopped, looking at her. "What?"

Effie pressed her lips together, contemplating something. Finally, she turned back to him. Standing on her toes, she gripped the collar of his dark purple shirt to pull herself up taller and she pressed her lips against his unexpectedly. Haymitch didn't hesitate. He kissed her back immediately, wrapping his arms around her tightly and pressing her back against the door.


	26. Scores

Chapter 26. Scores

For the next week and much to Katniss's dismay, the white haired tribute from District 3 as well as her mentor Beetee never came back to the training sessions. Even the last day, when the tributes were to show what their talent was so they could be given a score, the girl showed up just as her name was being called and left directly after, giving no opportunities to really talk to her.

When Gale had his turn at the Gamemakers, he really had no desire to impress them. In his mind, the scores only served to get them gifts from sponsors or intimidate the other tributes. Because the first of those had now been eliminated, Gale didn't even find it worthwhile to show the Gamemakers his strongest ability- snares. Instead, he lazily had fired a few arrows at various targets, but his audience seemed even less enthusiastic then he had been over the entire ordeal. Madge, however, had been doing a lot better. Since her confrontation with Katniss and Peeta, she had been trying out different weapons and was actually still very good with a sword and, surprisingly, camouflage. Her confidence was slowly coming back, as well as her optimism, as she trained in front of the Gamemakers to receive her score.

Later that day, the entirety of the District 12 group except Effie huddled around the television in their Capitol living quarters, ready to watch the unveiling of their scores for the Tributes. Gale, however, seemed the least interested. One by one, images of the other tributes flashed on the screen with a training number. The hunter rose an intrigued eyebrow when the white haired girl's face flashed with the number 10 under her name, though he was focused more on her picture. He wondered how he didn't notice it before, but it was evident from her picture that under her bangs that she wore over one eye, she wore an eye patch. "That's the girl you wanted us with, right, Catnip?"

Katniss nodded without turning away from the screen. "I can't help that I have good taste. If only she weren't so hard to talk to..."

The second Tribute from 3's face flashed after the girl, his scarred, youthful face smiling widely, spiky brown hair looking as though he had been struck by electricity. He had received a 9.

"They both got really good scores," Gale observed.

"Hers is probably higher though because of her attempt at the Gamemakers," Peeta pointed out as he looked over to Katniss, remembering when she shot them. "Right?"

She sighed. "Probably. I'd hope they gave me an 11 because of my skills, but probably not. She probably got extra for having guts."

The screen flashed as Amur's picture appeared next with the number "8" underneath of it. Katniss raised her eyebrows, leaning back on her hands on the floor. "I bet the majority of that is the fact that they were scared to give him anything lower."

Willow's serious face flashed after his with a large number 11 under her. This one shocked Peeta a little. "We really do have a Career on our side I guess."

Katniss smiled a little, but Madge just mumbled under her breath. "If she doesn't turn on us..."

Gale nodded towards Madge, silently agreeing with her. Madge smiled slightly at Gale as Sage's small face flashed on the screen with a 3. At this, however, Gale's face dropped slightly. He turned a little to look at Katniss's reaction. Katniss turned to look at Gale meaningfully, raising her eyebrows.

"...he deserves higher then that."

"I'm surprised he got that high. He's a child, they can't give a five year old a score that's on par with a 37 year old."

"He knows a lot about plant life, though. More then I ever will."

"That's because you never paid attention when I tried to teach you in the woods."

"Well, because of that, now I have a reason to keep Sage around."

She scowled and turned back to the television. Suddenly, Madge's face flashed with a 7 and Madge's nervous face was replaced with a large smile. "Hey, that's good."

Peeta looked on the screen befoer giving Madge a large smile. "That's really good. Well done, Madge."

Madge blushed and smiled. "Thank you, Peeta... you know, for challenging me."

Peeta gave her a smile and nodded before turning back just in time to see Gale's face pop up. Under his name, the number "12" popped up. Gale nearly fell out of his chair as Katniss, Peeta, Haymitch, and Madge were completely silent until Katniss slowly turned to look at Gale. "What did you do!"

"I didn't do anything!" Gale stared before scratching the back of his head vigorously. "Really, I shot a few arrows, I didn't even bother making a snare!"

Katniss stared at him for a few moments, realizing he was telling the truth. She narrowed her eyes at the television and turned it off, Gale's face and his score of 12 fading into black. She threw the remote onto the chair next to her and slunk down low, rubbing her dark circle rimmed eyes. "This is getting ridiculous."

Gale looked down at her, before giving a small shrug. "It doesn't matter what score they give me."

She dropped her hands, clutching the arms of the chair, looking at him. "Yes, it does. It matters a lot. They're trying to make you a damn target."

"Let's be honest," he sighed. "I was a target since before this even began. No point in ignoring that anymore. Thread targeted me, Coin did, this isn't much different. So we just got to plan around it, okay?"

Katniss shot him a look but found she was too tired to argue. She just pushed her braid behind her shoulder. "It's a little different. Now all the Careers will immediately go after you since you have such a high score. The Careers aren't so much into politics. They just want to win. And now..."

"Stop stressing out so much about it, Catnip. Besides, it's not like it's me versus the Careers. We have allies."

She shook her head quietly. "Your allies don't have 12s."

"One has an 11." He was trying his hardest to get her stress level down over the entire ordeal, but inside he knew it was useless. She wasn't going to let this one go and, quite honestly, he was rather afraid himself of the entire situation now, but he couldn't let Katniss see that. "And regardless of his score, Amur looks like he could break almost any of the other tributes in half."

Katniss paused and looked up at Gale, frowning. She slowly realized that Gale was probably more upset than she was, considering she wasn't being targeted in the Games. She smiled at him, shakily, even as she felt the anxiety continuing to rise. She stood up. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'm sure... everything will be fine."

He didn't answer with anything more then a nod. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door before Effie stepped in, only without her signature pink wig. This time, her hair was golden with gold dusted glitter throughout it and her outfit changed to a pink skirt and business style jacket with golden jewelry and a gold belt to match. She smiled at everybody. "Sorry if I'm interrupting anything but there was another schedule change. We're being asked to pack everything tonight and prepare to set off for the Tribute's Tour starting tomorrow." Her smile never faltered, though for a split second her right eye twitched.

Haymitch looked up at her and blinked, smirking a little. "Nice hair."

"You really think so?" she smiled back at him, though it was slightly mischievous. "I was thinking of having Cinna ask his stylists to do the same with yours, actually, but I didn't think you would like it. But if you do then I'll go right ahead and make the arrangements."

His smirk fell and he narrowed his eyes. "Please don't."

"Well, we're going to have to find you something then to match," she shrugged before looking to the others. "As with all of you, of course."

Madge stared at her and Katniss blinked. "We have to... match? Effie, that's cheesy."

"It's to symbolize that we're a team," she declared before pointing to the pin on Katniss's clothing. "Team Mockingjay."

Haymitch raised a fist, happy his nickname for them was catching on. "Huzzah! Team Mockingjay!"

Katniss turned to look at him, blinking slowly. "... you two are weird."

Effie giggled a little before smiling at the others. "Now then, all of you go on and pack. Haymitch, I've cleared your schedule for today so you can help me with a special job."

Katniss left, gratefully, to her room before the others while Haymitch blinked and looked at Effie, a small smile creeping over his face. "What kind of... _special job?_"

Madge made a face at his tone of voice, grossed out, and she, Gale, and Peeta immediately poured out of the room after Katniss. Once the two were alone, Effie just smiled towards Haymitch and said only one word in the sweetest, most innocent manner she could. "Shopping."

Haymitch froze and then groaned, his smile disappearing. "_Effie."_

Effie just gave him a small smile before practically dragging him out of the room. "When in doubt and all stress out, shop!"

* * *

><p>As everybody else went to their respected rooms to begin packing, Peeta only made it to his doorknob before stopping. Something had been bothering him for awhile now but there had never been time to figure things out. He looked around the hall for a moment before turning back around and heading towards Katniss's room.<p>

Katniss just stood in her room, staring at the small amount of her belongings strewn across her room. She sighed quietly but didn't make a move to begin packing, too stressed out and tired to even think about it. As she stared off, Peeta knocked lightly at her door. "Katniss?"

Katniss blinked and turned back toward her door. She slowly opened it and looked at him. "Peeta?"

He gave her a warm, light hearted smile. "Hey, um... I know after what happened you're probably stressed right now but... we haven't actually done anything in awhile and I just wanted to see if it was alright to talk for a little bit."

"I..." She paused and then smiled at him, very slightly, standing off to the side. "Sure... I wasn't going to start packing anyway."

"Thanks," he smiled before stepping inside.

She closed the door behind him and looked at him, raising her eyebrows. "What did you want to talk about?"

"How have you been sleeping?" He seemed like he asked this too much, but it was a valid concern.

She smiled slightly, shaking her head. "I haven't. Not really, not since... the night before the Reaping."

He stopped before looking back at her. "Katniss, you should have said something."

She shrugged, rubbing the back of her neck. "It's not a big deal."

"Yes, it is. To be honest, I've had a rough time sleeping too since then and when I do, I end up waking up in the middle of the night regardless..."

She paused, looking over at him. "Maybe it's just... being here in the Capitol again."

"That's probably a part of it, but only a part."

"What else could it be?"

"Everything." Peeta walked over to her bed before sitting down on the corner of it, looking up at her. "Everything they're putting us through. All the changes, how there's no breaks, always something new happening... it's overwhelming."

She nodded for a second before sitting down next to him. "And maybe... it was easier to sleep when we were together."

Peeta hesitated for a brief moment before reaching over and grabbing hold of her hand. He did not look directly at her as he spoke, however. "All you need to do is ask, you know. I could never tell you no."

She paused for a moment before looking down, speaking quietly. "I didn't know if you needed me."

Without delay, Peeta pulled her hand for her to face him before wrapping both his arms around her. "Of course I do. You're all I have left," he whispered as he embraced her tightly.

Katniss let out a small sob before she could stop herself and she wrapped her arms around his waist tightly. She was so exhausted and upset, she sighed in relief. She pressed her lips once against his jaw and spoke against his neck, quietly. "Do you think... we could sleep together more? You're the only thing that fights my nightmares, Peeta."

He nodded lightly before pulling back to look down at her. "I'll be there for you whenever you need me to be. Forever."

She smiled at him slightly. "Thanks, Peeta."


	27. Alliance

Chapter 27. Alliance

Outside of a large bullet train, Katniss stood quietly, feeling better after her first good night's sleep in a week due to Peeta Mellark. She kept glancing around the line, hoping to catch a glimpse of the District 3 Mentors and Tributes. However, due to their early appearance, hardly any other mentors or tributes had made their way there yet. In her newly found obsession to be earlier for everything, Effie had decided it would be smart to show up a full hour early then the time she was given. This way, if things went wrong, she would have enough time to mend any issues without them missing the train. Fortunately, by the fact that other mentors and tributes had begun to make their way towards the train, her information was correct.

District by District, mentors and Tributes began to get in line followed by their escort and stylists teams. The entire area was quickly becoming so crowded that finding anyone would be a feat, let alone the teenage District 3 girl.

Somehow, through the chaos of the boarding platform, a loud burst of laughter echoed through the group, aimed towards Haymitch. "Oh Christ, I had to see it for myself!" the male voice boomed in a loud, almost drunken manner.

Haymitch's eyes widened and he stared at Effie for a long moment before slowly turning around to greet his friend. Standing at six feet with darkened skin, the male District 11 mentor stared with a bottle of some type of home brewed alcohol in his only good hand. As Haymitch turned to look at him, the man's grin only grew wider and his laugh louder. Haymitch growled and crossed his arms, causing him to only look more feminine. "Chaff."

"Is it still Haymitch, or are you takin' one of them Capitol, more 'stylish' names like Herminius or Herius?" he snickered before walking over and handing him his bottle. "You look like you need this more than I ever will."

Haymitch groaned in relief and took a long swig from the bottle. Afterwards, he slapped Chaff cheerfully on his good arm. "I knew I could count on you to be generous, even while calling me names."

"It's called pity," he smirked before looking at the rest of the group. His eyes shot straight over to Katniss and Peeta. "So, you two are them then, eh?"

Katniss raised her eyebrows at Chaff and Haymitch just took another long pull off the bottle. "That's why I had to take this terrible job. Keep on eye on these two useless 'mentors'."

"You two don't look like nothin' special, but I guess that's what makes you all the more threatenin' now, don't it?" Chaff laughed before giving Katniss a light smack on her bottom, all the while chuckling.

Katniss jumped, looking at Chaff uneasily, before turning on Haymitch. "Finnick and now this? Why are all your friends such perverts?"

Chaff just gave her a toothy grin - well, with what teeth that hadn't rotted out of his mouth - before turning back towards Haymitch. Effie just stared at the scene, a look of pure horror on her face. Katniss moved slightly to stand behind Gale and Peeta while Haymitch chuckled. "Stop being a baby, sweetheart. Chaff's a big softie, aren't you, Chaff?" He finished off Chaff's bottle before handing it back to him casually.

Chaff took the empty bottle to check for any remnants of the alcohol inside. When he found none, he simply threw it over his shoulder, not caring about the commotion the broken glass caused as he smiled to Katniss again. "Soft as dey come."

Katniss winced at the glass breaking. "Sure, I believe that."

Chaff let out another laugh before looking around the crowd which was steadily growing. He let out a sigh. "I betta go find my Tribute through all this. The senile woman's probably forgotten where she is again. We'll meet up again later, Haymitch. I stocked up on my brew so there's plenty to go around to you and your friends."

"I think we'll have to pass," Effie finally spoke out, clearing her throat a little.

Haymitch blinked at her and then looked at Chaff, chuckling. "Well, _they'll_ pass."

Chaff patted Haymitch on the shoulder with a grin before walking off, disappearing into the crowd. Once gone, Effie's attention shot at Haymitch. "_Really?"_

He looked down at her, still smirking a little. "What?"

"You never cease to surprise me," she sighed before looking back at the others. "We should make our way onto the train, it's getting too packed out here. There should be a meeting place on board for all Tributes and Mentors to gather for directions and rules of the tour."

Katniss nodded a little, still looking uncomfortable, before making her way onto the train. Haymitch was still looking at Effie with a confused look on his face.

* * *

><p>Everybody followed as Effie led the pack onto the train. She continued onward down a very long hallway and passing countless doors until she reached a set of larger doors. The doors has glass windows but they had a texture making it impossible to see more then blurry figures beyond. "Haymitch and I can't follow you in here, so it's up to you from here. Listen to all the instructions, follow them, and we'll meet you later tonight in the District 12's living arrangements."<p>

Katniss nodded a little at Effie before glancing back at Gale, Madge, and Peeta. She paused before pushing open the doors and walking inside. Inside was lavished with silver decorations and lighting unlike anything ever imagined in District 12. A large crystal and silver chandelier hung from the middle of the room illuminating the guests and tables lining the room covered with a buffet of various finger foods. There were no tables or chairs, the set up almost forcing those inside to mingle.

Regardless, not many Tributes and Mentors seemed to make their way to the room yet. However, the eye patched District 3 Tribute stood at the buffet, contemplatingly, by herself. Her mentor, Beetee, stood across the room with his fellow District 3 Victor, Wiress, in the middle of conversation. The boy District 3 Tribute stood awkwardly by Wiress and Beetee, but slightly off to the side, eating one little cake after another.

Katniss glanced around the room quickly before eyeing Beetee and Wiress. She spun quickly to look at Peeta, excited to have finally found them. Peeta smiled back at her, having noticed it too. It was almost too perfect a situation, seeing as how the room was barely populated yet. "So, do you want to talk to her first or her mentor?"

"I don't know... it went well when we talked to Finnick and Annie first. Perhaps we should do that?"

Peeta nodded before looking back to Madge. "You two can go get something to eat. Maybe when Amur and Willow come by, strike up a conversation with them."

"Or Sage," Gale added with crossed arms and spoke in a mutter. "I'd rather talk with him than Willow anyways." Madge nodded in agreement, looking around the room uncomfortably.

Katniss grabbed Peeta's hand and laced her fingers through his, pulling him over to Beetee and Wiress with her. Peeta smiled towards Katniss as he followed, leaving behind a now fuming dark haired hunter boy who glared at the two's locked hands. He shook it off, mentally telling himself it was just for show, and started towards the buffet tables. Madge followed Gale, deciding to stay close to him to avoid having to talk to anyone that she didn't want to talk to.

Wiress glanced up as she noticed Katniss and Peeta heading toward them. She nudged Beetee gently and nodded in their direction. Beetee pushed his glasses up onto his face a little more before looking towards where Wiress directed. "Hm?"

She nodded again and Katniss walked up to them with Peeta. She smiled slightly. "Sorry, we didn't mean to interrupt..."

"Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, correct?" Beetee asked before turning towards the two. "No interruption at all. I believe the entire point of this set up was to force conversation anyways."

Katniss nodded faintly before glancing back at Gale and Madge. She looked back at Beetee, smiling awkwardly. "It doesn't seem to be working for most, however."

Beetee's eyes followed where Katniss was referring to before laughing, pointing to his own Tribute. "Most indeed."

She smiled, glancing at his Tribute, before looking back and nodding. "She is actually why I've decided to come to you... have you thought about alliances at all?"

At this, Beetee let out a bit of a laugh. It wasn't condescending, but more light-hearted like he actually found something amusing in her statement. He readjusted his glasses. "Did her little outburst gain attention from more than just the Gamemakers then?"

She smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "You could definitely say that."

After his laugh finally faded, he smiled down at her. "Let me ask you this, then. What would your tributes offer to mine?"

She paused, pressing her lips together for a moment, before shrugging gently. "As much as one Tribute can offer another, which, granted, isn't very much. Limited mutual protection. They'll stand a better chance together than apart. As I'm sure you know, my Tribute gained a 12 in Training. He's not incompetent. To be honest, his only fault is wanting to save everyone that goes into that Arena."

"Save everyone?" Beetee's eyebrow raised. Out of anything she had said, this caught his attention the most.

She smiled slightly back at Gale, sighing. "He has a problem with authority." She turned back to Beetee, lowering her voice. "He's convinced he'll be able to get everyone out."

"Is he now?" Beetee stared towards Gale, fixing his glasses once again. "Tell you what. I'll accept the alliance, but you'll have to be certain Joule accepts as well. She's a bit of a loner, just to warn you, so a large alliance may be intimidating for her at first."

She paused, nodding. "We're trying not to make it too large. Besides Joule, who I'm hoping will be the last one, there's only our Tributes and Willow and Amur from District 4."

"If your tribute is trying to save everyone then I doubt that will be the only ones in your alliance," he chuckled.

She sighed before rolling her eyes. "You're probably right. Thanks, Beetee."

Next to her, Peeta squeezed Katniss's hand slightly. "We should go talk to her now then."

Katniss nodded before hesitantly heading over to Joule. The 19 year old girl barely even noticed them as she stared down at the buffet, fiddling with something in her jacket pocket. Katniss stepped up to her side and cleared her throat softly. "Joule?"

Joule blinked before slowly turning her head up, her hand in her pocket stopping. She almost looked starstruck the way she stared at Katniss before shaking her head a little. "Hello..."

She smiled gently at her. "I'm Katniss and this is Peeta. We were wondering if we could talk to you for a second?"

Joule turned away from the buffet and back at the two of them, nodding. "Sure. What do you need?"

"We were wondering if you'd be interested in forming an alliance with our Tributes."

"Your Tributes? If that was the case, shouldn't they be the ones asking me?"

She shrugged, glancing back at them and then at her. "They're not exactly the mingling type."

"I can understand that," she smiled slightly, shoving both her hands back in her pockets. "Why me?"

Katniss smiled at Joule. "You impressed me. Your display with the discus on the first training day... I knew I needed to at least ask if you would be part of the alliance."

"You were impressed that I threw a metal plate at the Gamemakers? If anything, that's going to make me a target in the Arena for special attacks from weather or area-based dangers. You'd be subjecting your Tributes to extra disadvantages since most the Careers are already going to be planning on trying to get to them because of Gale Hawthorne's score." As she explained, she had a matter-of-fact type tone to her voice, almost like a teacher would have.

"All the more reason. Gale has been made a target and I need someone brave to be in the alliance with him. You reminded me of myself when you threw that discus and I need someone like that near Gale. And with his natural need to protect people, he'd be a good asset to you, as well."

"So then it would only be me and Gale in this alliance?" Joule wanted all the details.

"Not exactly. It's a small-ish alliance. Included is Peeta's Tribute, Madge, and Willow and Amur from 4."

"Five Tributes? Seems a bit much for me, too many mouths to feed and directions I'd have to protect my back from."

Katniss shrugged slightly. "It's completely up to you, Joule. However, I assure you all the Tributes in the alliance are capable of taking care of themselves and trustworthy."

Joule remained quiet as she contemplated with herself, her hand fiddling again with the mystery item in her pocket. "What's your plan?" she finally asked as she looked up. "If you have a plan and it's good, then I'll join."

She glanced around for a moment and, deciding it was empty enough, lowered her voice to a near whisper. "Currently, we want to break out. We need people who are brave and able to help. Gale wants to break everyone else out as well, but... we'll see how it works out."

Joule's eyebrow rose slightly at this before she cracked a small smile. She pulled her hand out of her pocket and extended it out to shake Katniss's hand. "If anyone could do that, it's you. I'll join."

Katniss smiled at her and shook her hand. "I knew you would."


	28. Defiance

Chapter 28. Defiance

Madge stood quietly pressed almost against Gale's back, hoping to avoid talking to anybody by hiding behind him. She glanced around quietly before her eyes landed on Savage Ray, the large male Tribute from 1, staring at Gale almost unblinkingly.

Madge paused and mumbled quietly to Gale. "Is it just me or do a lot of these Tributes seem like they want to kill you?"

"They probably do," Gale sighed before turning fully and staring right back at Savage, meeting his eyes. Savage simply smirked when their eyes met but didn't look away, like a dog desperate to prove its dominance. Unfortunately for him, Gale was too stubborn to ever let something go. The look of the boy was intimidating, but that wouldn't stop Gale. He let out a soft laugh before giving the District 1 Tribute a smug wink.

Savage let out a small chuckle and raised his eyebrow.

Madge, watching the exchange, frowned anxiously. "Is this a boy thing?"

"Not really," Gale shrugged as he threw another smile towards Savage before turning back to Madge. His smile faded almost the instant his back was to Savage and he almost felt sick. Like hell if he was going to let Savage see his fear though. Savage waited until Gale looked away to turn his head back to his Mentor.

Madge raised her eyebrows. "I'm not going to pretend to understand that, then."

Gale just gave her a small nod before grabbing a drink from the buffet table, slightly wishing he had whatever Chaff gave Haymitch earlier. Then perhaps he would actually be more relaxed instead of just pretending to be. He took a swig of what he determined was some sort of fruity punch and looked around the room. "Anybody look worthwhile to talk to?"

Madge took a tiny sandwich off the table and chewed on the corner of it, glancing around stealthily. "I don't know. They all seem so intimidating."

Gale just scanned around the room as more and more tributes had made their way in. Tributes and Mentors from Districts 2, 4, 7, and 8 were all present and Gale only had enough time to look towards the 16 year old boy from District 7 for a few moments when his mentor began to complain about the heat of the train and strip down to nothing. Madge's face quickly turned bright red and she covered her eyes.

"...we could go talk to them," Gale joked, his eyes widening at the display.

Madge made a small noise, not uncovering her eyes. "Why is she doing that? Is that normal in District 7?"

"Hell if I know." Gale finally tore his eyes away when Chaff attempted to talk to the naked woman and received a quick kick between his legs. "We'll avoid them for now."

Madge turned away from the spectacle, toward the table, dropping her hands from her red face. "These people are crazy," she mumbled quietly, giving up.

"Maybe we should just stick to ourselves. I saw Amur and Willow walk in, but it's no secret we're both uncertain of Willow."

Madge took a glass of some amber liquid and sniffed it before sipping. "I guess we could see what Amur is like."

Gale nodded and started to walk towards Amur from across the room. As the two walked, the 25 year old female from District 8 sat alone against the wall. In her lap she rested a ball of baby blue yarn and was crocheting with it, keeping completely to herself. Her eyes never looked up from the ball, water building up in them as a few stray tears fell while she worked. No mentor was to be found around her and none seemed to notice the girl.

Madge began to follow Gale but stopped as her eyes fell on the girl from District 8. She furrowed her eyebrows and grabbed the back of Gale's shirt to stop him from continuing. "Gale..."

Gale blinked and stopped. He looked in the direction she stared then sighed. "You want to go talk to her, don't you?"

Madge nodded and didn't wait for a reply. Gale just smiled slightly as he watched her walk towards the girl before deciding to speak with Amur alone. Madge sat down next to her, smiling warmly. "Hi, my name's Madge Undersee. What's your's?"

The District 8 woman jumped a little, as if shocked anybody was bothering with her. She looked over to Madge before quickly wiping her eyes. "O-oh, I'm sorry, am I in the way of something or...?"

Madge just continued to smile at her warmly, despite the fact that the shock the woman showed toward her broke her heart a little bit. "No, I just wanted to come and speak to you."

She blinked a few times before relaxing slightly. "Madge, you said? Okay... my name's Sisal."

Madge smiled a bit wider. "Nice to meet you, Sisal. Why are you sitting over here by yourself?"

Sisal shrugged slightly as she turned back to her yarn, which she had been crocheting into a baby's blanket. She started back to work rather skillfully and quickly, but she still had sorrow in her eyes as she did. "Nobody to talk to... my mentor's pretty much given up on me, so I thought it wouldn't be smart to get close to anybody..."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Would you like to join my alliance?"

The crocheting girl smiled slightly but shook her head. "You wouldn't want me."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"I'm slow. I don't have a lot of skills and I know I won't make it." She finished the line she was working on before turning the blanket over to start the next. "My score was a 4. I don't have many survival skills."

"My fellow Tribute chose Sage for the alliance, who got a mere 3." Madge held up three fingers and then smiled slightly, touching Sisal's arm lightly. "I doubt you're useless. I thought I was as well but I've learned nobody's useless. And I want you in our alliance. Please?"

"I'm going to die in the bloodbath. That's just the type of Tribute I am," she stated simply, tears welling up in her eyes again. "You're not in the same situation as me. You don't understand yet, but... I'm fragile." As she spoke, she lowered the baby blanket she was crocheting and rested her hand on her stomach. "Too fragile."

Madge's smile slowly slid off her face. Her eyes welled up and she set a hand on Sisal's shoulder. "I'm going to protect you, Sisal."

"That's pointless." She wiped the tears from her face again before going back to crocheting her blanket, trying to keep herself preoccupied. "Only one can live."

Madge set her hands over Sisal's crocheting one. "You don't know that," she answered, mysteriously. "I'm going to take care of you, whether you agree to the alliance or not."

Sisal looked up at Madge through her reddened eyes, a bit confused. Regardless, she managed to smile. "Well... I'm glad someone cares enough then..."

Madge gave her a sweet smile, despite her watery eyes. "I do. Just trust me."

Sisal's smiled stayed as she turned her head back down to her crochet work, saying nothing more. Madge patted Sisal's arm gently before standing back up and heading straight over to Katniss and Peeta. All the while she was speaking with Sisal, Peeta had watched from afar. His eyes followed her as she walked towards them, an uncertain look on his face.

"Did you make another ally?"

"Yes, I did and she's pregnant and there's nothing you can say to change my mind," Madge stated, crossing her arms.

Katniss stared at her. "Are you kidding me?"

Peeta immediately put his hand to his forehead before looking to Katniss. "Maybe we should have told her yes to Rye."

Katniss didn't look at Peeta. She continued staring at Madge. "Do you have to constantly help the wounded birds?"

Madge glared at her. "You're so heartless, Katniss. She's hurting and she needs me."

Peeta frowned. "Madge, she's not going to be able to compete well in her state. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if she faced extra dangers because of the confusion at the technical two Victors it would bring about if she won. And you and Gale are already going to be targeted because of scores and Joule."

Madge narrowed her eyes at Peeta now. "Really? You too? Has winning really made you two so jaded? Peeta, you used to be so caring. And Katniss, what about Rue? She wasn't the best choice of an ally. I told you, Sisal is going to be with me and I'm going to take care of her. I don't care what either of you say. I was just letting you know."

"Madge, we're just trying to help you survive."

Madge stared at him. "Well, that's nice and all, but you'll both be here in the Capitol while Gale and I are fighting for our lives. So, while you can maybe do a little, you can't do much else. And you can't control if I survive and you can't control who I help. Gale and I have accepted Willow and Amur and that District 3 girl even though we didn't have a choice. And I'm afraid you two will just have to do the same."

Peeta stared right back at her, obviously annoyed. He shut his eyes for a brief moment before sighing. "Fine."

"Good." Madge glanced at Katniss, who didn't say anything and was clearly mulling over what Madge said about them, before turning and walking back over to Gale.

Once she had left, Peeta turned immediately to Katniss. "Forget alliances, they're going to build an army at this point."

Katniss crossed her arms. "It's going to be the Careers of 1 and 2 versus everyone else. It's getting out of hand. Perhaps this is what the Capitol wanted by creating this Tour."

"Get them attached then break them apart. Seems like a Capitol tactic to me."

Katniss watched Gale and Madge from across the room. "And Gale and Madge are falling right into their plan."

As the final Tributes and Mentors made their way into the room, a group of Peacekeepers marched in after them in an orderly fashion. One by one, the voices of the room died down as from the center of the Peacekeepers, a Gamemaker stepped out. To Katniss, the man looked rather familiar as he stood before the group. "Good evening, Tributes and Mentors. Allow me to introduce myself. Plutarch Heavensbee, Head Gamemaker for this year's Quarter Quell."

Katniss stared at him for a moment before gasping quietly. She leaned up on her toes and whispered in Peeta's ear, quietly. "He's one of the Gamemakers that I shot the arrow at."

Peeta let out a small groan and whispered back, "I hope he doesn't hold grudges."

"Allow me to be the first to wish you the best of luck during your travels here at the Tribute's Tour. While I have the whole of you here to listen, let me go over the rules during the tour." Plutarch was then handed a scroll by one of the Peacekeepers. He began to read from it, listing very obvious rules of conduct - no extra training, no fighting other tributes, no sneaking into the living quarters of other Districts. It was all basic procedure. Once finished, he handed the scroll back off. "The tour shall go in ascending order, starting at District 1 and ending at District 12. It has also been arranged for a special visit to the ruins of District 13, to do a very special segment and reminder to all of those who go against the Panem government."

Katniss fell off her toes and watched Plutarch quietly, crossing her arms toward the end, almost defiantly.

"The best of luck to you all and we hope you enjoy being a part of the first semi-annual Tribute's Tour!"


	29. Cut

Chapter 29. Cut

Over the next few weeks, the tour was going just as the Victor's Tour normally would. One by one, they visited District after District, but this time Caesar Flickerman had made his way to interview each tribute in each District with the questions of it's citizens. Many of the questions were basic - Do you have any tactics? Do you have anybody at home you'd like to say anything to? It was around the time they were in District 5 when the questions about the reaping were brought up. When asked about his reaping, the District 7 boy tribute, named Leaf, had the most interesting answers by far.

"Leaf, was it? Now originally, your name wasn't drawn in the reaping, but an older man around the age of 30. What drew you to volunteer for this man?" Caesar opened up, which caught Gale off guard backstage. He wondered to himself how he missed catching such an act when they were watching the reapings and wondered if Leaf would be a valuable ally. His thoughts were immediately forgotten based off the boy's answers.

"I didn't know him. I just wanted to play."

Regardless of the innocent look in his large, brown eyes, his voice almost had a sinister hiss to it that no 16 year old should ever possess. After the interviews were over, Gale had promptly warned Madge as well as Katniss and Peeta to never even suggest adding him to their alliance. Nothing about Leaf sat right with Gale.

Katniss simply nodded at Gale, understanding his hesitance about the boy. She had been watching Leaf for a while from afar and had decided around District 3 that he was certifiably insane.

Madge glanced at Gale and then at Katniss and Peeta. "He was kidding... right? About 'wanting to play'?"

"You get all kinds in the Arena," Peeta warned as they were escorted back onto the train, towards their living quarters. "The stable and the otherwise."

Katniss walked quietly next to Peeta. "Or the stable that turn into the otherwise. The Arena changes people. So be wary of your allies as well."

By the time the four of them had reached their living quarters, it was already dark out. The interviews with Caesar Flickerman always took so long and were very tiresome. Effie led the four in before turning on her heels, calendar book in hand. "Tomorrow, we dine with the Peacekeepers of the District and then we're back on the road again. This is for Tributes only, though. So Katniss, Peeta, you two will stay here for dinner with the mentors."

Katniss nodded sleepily while Madge furrowed her eyebrows a little. "Why aren't mentors allowed?"

"There are some things you'll need to face alone," Peeta looked down at her. "The District might not have the space for 24 Tributes plus the extra 24 Mentors. It's a new concept."

Madge nodded a little, but still looked nervous. "With the Peacekeepers though? That's... intimidating."

"You'll be fine," Peeta smiled down at her.

"Okay, okay, enough chit chatting. It's time for bed, you all need to be up bright and early. Oh! And I want the three of you to take these!" Effie ran over to a plastic bag that was sitting on the living quarters sofa before pulling out three small boxes. She gave one to Peeta, Gale, and Madge.

Katniss looked at Effie, indignantly. "Presents? Why don't I get one!"

"Because you already have yours," she laughed, pointing down to Katniss's pin. Before she could elaborate anymore, Gale pulled out a golden necklace from his box. The chain was small with rounded chain links and at the end was a rectangle tag with the symbol matching Katniss's pin etched into it. Peeta pulled out a similar style piece of jewelry to Gale's, though his was a bracelet.

Madge slowly opened hers as well and Katniss sighed. "Oh, so this was the matching you were talking about?"

"Aren't they just perfect?" Effie smiled as she watched Madge open the pair of earrings she bought. "The only thing I could force Haymitch to take was a ring and even that I swear he's going to purposefully 'lose.'"

Madge smiled at the earrings. "Oh, Effie, they're beautiful. If Haymitch loses his ring, I'll force him to wear one of these."

The thought of forcing Haymitch to pierce his ear amused Effie as she let out a little giggle. "I'm glad you like it, Madge. Now, all of you. It's getting too late and we need to be up bright and early so the stylists can have you two ready," she smiled to Gale and Madge before starting to shoo them away to their rooms. "So, ta ta, good night everyone!"

Madge smiled back at Effie and then followed Katniss back to their rooms. Once making sure Peeta and Gale were in their rooms, Effie gave herself a smile. So far things on the Tour were going perfectly and her schedule was back on track. Her paranoia that the Peacekeepers were out to get her had been forgotten for the most part.

Turning on her heel, Effie decided to go find Haymitch. She wanted to be certain he hadn't pitched the ring yet and inform him of his fate were he too. She began to walk down the corridors, passing the doors to various Tribute's living quarters as she made her way down to the living arrangements for staff and help.

Haymitch was sitting in the living quarters for the staff, staring at his ring. He made a face at it and tucked it into his back pocket, slightly annoyed at being forced to wear it. As he sat, Effie made it to his door and knocked lightly. "Haymitch! You better still have that gold on your finger!"

Haymitch jumped up and put the ring back on quickly. He mumbled to himself, "is she psychic?" before wandering over and opening the door. "Oh, hello, Effie!" he said with forced cheerfulness.

Effie looked down at his hand briefly before giving him a smile. "I'm impressed."

"You should be. I've thought about chopping off my fingers several times."

Effie's smile immediately turned to a scowl as her arms crossed. "It's not that dreadful, you know."

He frowned back at her. "I'm not the jewelry type, Effie."

Effie began to protest but the sounds of screaming cut her off. Startled, Effie jumped at Haymitch and grabbed onto him before looking over her shoulder for the source. The screams, which were obviously feminine, did not stop and seemed to echo from further down the hallway. Haymitch's eyes widened in alarm. He touched Effie's arm gently. "Effie, stay here."

"W-what? No! What if it's Katniss or Madge?" Effie argued as she turned and started a sprint down the hallway. Haymitch growled and ran as fast as he could after her. It was probably the fastest Effie had ever ran in her life, but she found herself feeling slightly relieved when the screams came from a room too close to be from Madge or Katniss. Effie stopped with a pant before the screams broke out into a horrified call for help. Effie picked up her head after catching her breath and looking at the large number "8" printed on the door before her.

Haymitch finally caught up with Effie, panting, before nudging her out of the way. He shoved his shoulder hard against the door, breaking it open. As the door flung open Effie let out a shriek of terror upon seeing the inside. A mirror in Sisal's bedroom had been broken and she laid on the floor in the fetal position with her arms wrapped tightly around her stomach. Her arms had very deep gashes as well as a few stabs to her back but nothing that proved fatal. Standing over her with a large shard of the broken mirror was the brown crew cut haired Leaf from District 7, his arms covered with blood. He didn't even seem to notice Haymitch and Effie as he tried to pry Sisal's arms away from her stomach.

Haymitch ran up behind Sisal and Leaf. He knocked the mirror from Leaf's hand, grabbed him by the shoulders, and slammed him against a wall, pressing his forearm hard to Leaf's neck. "What the hell do you think you're doing, you little psychopath?"

Leaf's eyes finally turned and looked up at Haymitch, still having that innocent gleam to them. He didn't answer as Effie turned down the hallway, screaming for help. More and more mentors and Tributes woke up and started to make a crowd at the doorway until one particular Mentor arrived in just a bedsheet wrapped around her waist.

"LEAF!" she yelled angrily before Johanna walked into the room, her eyes widened at the scene but her expression being absolutely livid. "What the fuck is the matter with you? You're not supposed to attack the other tributes!"

"I wasn't," he said simply, like it was obvious. "There's not supposed to be 25 Tributes."

Haymitch kept his arm pressed tightly against Leaf's neck, refusing to let him down even as the crowd formed. He paused at his statement, glancing at the woman on the floor, before growling loudly, almost protectively, pressing his arm harder against his trachea. "She's pregnant! What's wrong with you, kid? Johanna, you need to control your Tribute better before he decides to pass judgment on someone else."

Johanna glared at him, irked she was being blamed in part for this. Reaching over, she pulled Haymitch by the hair back a little, but not off Leaf just yet. "Don't you tell me how to do my job when you're not even supposed to be here, you son of a bitch. I'm doing the best I can so keep your pretty boy mouth shut."

He chuckled, elbowing Leaf hard in the stomach and spinning around, ignoring when some of his hair got pulled out by Johanna's hand. He shoved the kid hard toward her. "Tell that little crazy bastard that if I catch him putting another toe out of line, I'm going to show him what it's like to deal with a _real _Victor, Johanna."

Johanna caught the now coughing Leaf by the collar of his shirt, all the while giving Haymitch an almost sadist smile back. Haymitch ignored Johanna and kneeled beside Sisal, ripping one of his shirt sleeves off and pressing it against her stomach to staunch the bleeding. He glanced up at Effie. "She needs medical assistance."

In the midset of the crowd, Gale was trying his hardest to see what the commotion was about. Slowly, he managed to get in a spot where he could see the still bleeding Sisal on the floor, now sobbing. His eyes grew wide as his mind instantly went to finding Madge. Not to tell her, but to keep her away. He quickly turned and went to run off back towards their quarters.

Madge was trying to get through the crowd as well, obviously concerned by the screaming. Luckily for Gale, he spotted her just as he was starting back. He ran up to her, in his mind trying to figure out what to tell her. "Madge!"

Madge jumped at her name and looked up at Gale. "Gale! Gale, what's happened?"

Gale stopped in front of her before looking back over his shoulder. "We should get back to bed. We'll only be in the way."

She frowned at him and stood on her toes, craning her neck to look around him. "In the way of what?"

In the background, Effie had pushed her way through the crowds and ran off to find Peacekeepers to assist. Gale bit his bottom lip and turned back towards Madge, not wanting to lie. "Leaf... attacked someone."

Madge furrowed her eyebrows, falling off her toes in shock. "Really? Who? Do we know them?" When Gale didn't answer, Madge knew instantly that they did. She paused, looking at up at him. "Gale? Oh no, who was it? Are they okay?"

"Effie's running off to get help, I'm sure she'll be okay, Madge..." Madge frowned and pushed past Gale and through the crowd quickly.

"Madge, wait!"

Inside the room, Sisal was still losing quite a bit of blood regardless of Haymitch's attempts. Leaf had slashed her in too many places to be able to stop with just cloth. Madge pushed through to the front and gasped when she saw Haymitch leaning over Sisal, pressing his shirt sleeve, which had quickly turned from white to bright red, against her deepest wound. Madge ran forward and leaned on Sisal's other side, stroking her hair. She quickly took off the sweater she had thrown on over her pajamas and pressed it against Sistal's other side. "Oh, Sisal... oh, it's going to be okay..."

Sisal's eyes focused just enough for her to look up at Madge slowly, tears streaming down her face. Although pain from the attack was obviously a factor to the anguish in her eyes, she also had a level of panic. Slowly, she unhinged her arms which she hugged over her stomach, revealing a wound deeper then any other striking across from her side to her belly button. Madge felt her eyes sting but she held back her tears for Sisal. She pressed her entire sweater against her stomach, whispering "it's going to be okay" again.


	30. Discovery

Chapter 30. Discovery

The next day at the Tribute's dinner, Sisal was the only one absent. In fact, she was also absent for the all interviews and events up until District 8, her home. Up until Sisal was finally able to be interviewed, Madge had sat with her, ignoring the doctors who had tried to get her to leave. She had performed all her duties as Tribute, of course, but as soon as they were over, she was back with Sisal. She felt guilty about not being able to protect her from Leaf and she was determined to not let anything else happen to her new friend.

When Sisal did eventually crawl out from her room to do her interviews with Caesar Flickerman, her appearance had altered greatly. She had significantly thinned down and had such thick bags under her eyes that no matter how hard her stylists had tried, they were still noticeable through the make up. She did not even try to crack a smile during her interview and, when Caesar brought up her absence from the interviews, her only response was a few silent tears before running from the stage entirely, leaving behind a very dumbfounded Caesar Flickerman.

The night after the interview, Sisal had retreated back to her room, her mind set that she wouldn't come out again for any reason. She skipped dinner again and just sat up in her bed, crocheting the blue blanket in silence.

Madge slipped away from Gale, Katniss, and Peeta, as had become normal for her, and walked slowly down to Sisal's room. She knocked gently on her door. "Sisal?"

Sisal's hands stopped their work, but she didn't look to the door. "...it's open."

Madge opened the door and stepped inside. She closed the door quietly behind her and looked at Sisal on her bed. She smiled slightly. "Hi, Sisal."

Sisal didn't look up but, instead, went back to work on the blanket. "You don't have to keep visiting me like this..."

She stepped a bit closer. "I want to," she said, cheerfully. "You did really well in your interview today."

"Stop it, you know that's a lie."

"Would I lie to you, Sisal?"

"To try and make me feel less pathetic." She turned the blanket over on her lap and began to do the next line.

"No, I wouldn't. It was really brave of you to stand up in front of everyone like that. I wouldn't have been able to do that." When Sisal didn't answer, Madge paused for a moment, faltering. She put on another cheery smile. "And you look so good."

"We should break off this alliance, Madge."

"I... what?" She blinked and looked at her.

Sisal finished off her line, but instead of starting a new one, she tied off the end of the yarn having finally finished the full baby blanket. Neatly, she began to fold it up. "I can survive the bloodbath now. I'm going to run from the horn, I'm not going to eat, I'm not going to sleep. I'm not going to stop until he's dead, which is too reckless for a girl like you."

Madge furrowed her eyebrows, suddenly feeling a bit of anger stir in her chest. "A girl like me? Sisal, I fought for you to be in this alliance. You're the only person I chose. And you're going to blow me off because you think it's too reckless for a _girl like me_?"

Sisal placed the folded blanket on her lap before looking up at Madge. The shy, self-conscious 25 year old was gone, her face now void of emotions and cold. "You're a nice girl, Madge. You care for others before yourself. You won't be able to handle it when I die."

"You're not going to die!" Madge snapped, narrowing her eyes. "I said I was going to protect you. I've sat with you for weeks, willing to do just that, and it's like you don't even care."

"If I didn't care, I wouldn't be telling you to avoid me," she said flatly.

Madge crossed her arms and stood up. "If that's the case, then I'm going to bluntly honest with you. You don't have the skills to kill Leaf. He's ruthless and crazy. Our alliance has three of the top scorers for the training sessions. If anything, they can kill him. Not you."

"I know I don't have the skills, which is why I'm pretty sure I'm going to die," she laughed hollowly as she hugged the blanket to her chest. "But... I can't not try... I have to accomplish something in there, try even if I'm doomed to fail... Your alliance wouldn't want any parts of a revenge plot."

"It's _our _alliance, Sisal. The whole point for an alliance is so you will have people to help you."

Sisal gave Madge a small shrug as she looked down at her blanket. She remained silent as she hugged it tighter and ran her fingers across it a few times, almost like it was her lost child. A small smile crept across her face as she rocked back and forth, forgetting entirely that Madge was still there as she lost herself in the scene.

Madge chewed on her bottom lip, watching her for a moment. She stepped forward and touched Sisal's shoulder gently. "I know how it feels... the anger, the need for revenge... and I know it hurts. I promised to protect you, Sisal, and I'm not going to stop just because you want me to."

Sisal's rocking came to a stop before she opened one eye towards Madge. However, she only looked at the younger girl for a moment, before returning to her own little world of rocking empty blankets and humming lullabies. Madge watched her for a moment, torn between anger and sympathy, before turning and leaving Sisal to her thoughts.

* * *

><p>Katniss was already in her room after Effie decided it was bedtime since tomorrow was a "big, big, big day!". Instead of in bed, however, she was standing by the door, waiting for Peeta so she could actually sleep. After about maybe ten more minutes, Peeta arrived at the door. He knocked lightly with one hand, tucking a small canvas under his opposite arm. Katniss almost immediately opened the door for him, looking out and smiling slightly.<p>

"Sorry that I'm late," Peeta apologized as he scratched the back of his head. "I wanted to finish something for you."

She raised her eyebrows slightly in surprise, glancing at his canvas. She smiled. "It's okay... did you paint me something?"

He nodded with a grin back towards her as he stepped through the door. "It's not much and I wish I had a bigger canvas to put it on, but..."

Katniss ignored the door behind them, her smile never faltering as her intrigue increased. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, turning back toward him. "I'm sure it's great. Let me see."

Peeta almost seemed embarrassed as he nodded, a shade of red tinting his ears and cheeks. However, his grin remained constant as he turned the canvas over and handed it towards her. Much like his other works, the three figures in the image looked very peaceful, but different then the others. The three looked very much alive and happy even as Peeta's reditions of Katniss, her mother Iris, and Prim stood in a garden of the flowers each were named for. Katniss and Prim were facing each other, hand in hand with smiles on their faces while Iris stood slightly off to the back, watching her daughters.

"It was the first time I painted something like this, so bright and with all the different flowers," Peeta admitted as he awkwardly ran his fingers through his own hair. "Do... do you like it?"

Katniss took the painting gently, her face showing surprise, as if this wasn't what she expected him to paint. Her eyes, lingering over Prim and her mother's faces, suddenly became wet with tears. She looked up at Peeta, smiling, her tears threatening to fall. "Oh, Peeta... it's perfect. It's beautiful. I... thank you."

He let out a small sigh, like he was worried she somehow was going to say no, before looking back up at her. "I'm glad you like it."

Katniss set the painting gently down on her chair, the front facing her bed. She threw her arms his neck and set her head on his shoulder. "How do you always know the perfect thing to do?"

Any of the red tint in Peeta's face that had vanished came back with a vengeance almost the second she hugged him. Joy washed over him as he wrapped his arms around her, knowing for certain this wasn't just part of their act. "I just want to make you happy."

Katniss gently kissed his cheek. It was like seeing her mother and Prim's faces, even in a painting, automatically cheered her up, she missed them so much. She pulled back slightly to look at him. "You always make me happy, Peeta. Thank you."

Peeta pulled Katniss in briefly for another hug. "That's all I want. Now, we should probably go to bed. I'll get the door."

Katniss nodded and let go of him, almost hesitantly. She sat down on her bed for a moment before falling backwards onto her back, sighing. Peeta watched Katniss with a small laugh as he turned to the door. For the first time since he entered the room, his smile faded and was replaced with a look of surprise as his eyes met with another's.

"Gale...?"

Katniss's eyes snapped open and she sat up quickly, looking at the door. Standing beyond the doorway, the hunter glared towards Peeta with almost murderous intent in his eyes. His body had tensed and he clenched his fists, doing all he could to prevent himself from lunging at the painter. He could tell he wouldn't be able to hold back for long however. Katniss widened her eyes when she saw how upset he was. She stood up shakily. "Gale."

Almost like her voice was a trigger, Gale jumped at Peeta. He grasped the collar of Peeta's paint stained pajama shirt tightly as he thrust him against the door so hard it was a miracle the wood didn't crack. "What are you doing in her room? What were you two going to do?" he shouted at the wide eyed Peeta.

Katniss gasped, running over to them after a moment of shock. She pressed a hand flat against each of their chests hard, trying to pry them apart. "Gale! Gale, it's not like that. You don't understand!"

Gale let go of Peeta only so he could have room to step back and glare at the two of them. "Then what? Because apparently I don't understand! You told me you had no feelings for him! You made me think you had them for me! Or is that just another strategy of yours too?" He didn't want to be so harsh on Katniss or hurt her in any way, but he was beyond his breaking point now. He was hurt more now than ever before.

Katniss stepped between them quickly. She looked up at Gale, her tears of joy from earlier quickly turning into tears of hurt and sadness. "How dare you, Gale Hawthorne? You know me better than that, you..." She trailed off and growled. "I can't sleep without Peeta, _for your information_, because I wake up screaming from nightmares! We just sleep! I don't know what else you want me to do!"

"_Tell me!_ Confide in me like you made me promise I would for you! Or was that only a one way thing? You're allowed to keep secrets from me, but I'm not allowed from you? Is it because I don't make you happy enough like he apparently does? That whole conversation was more then _just sleeping_, Katniss!"

"You make me plenty happy, Gale! I wouldn't have let you kiss me if I felt otherwise! And Peeta and I are _friends_! I'm not allowed to thank Peeta for taking the time to paint me a picture? And you're about to go into the Hunger Games! I didn't think my sleeping problems would concern you right now! What the hell is wrong with you?"

It was Peeta's turn to look shocked and hurt. Throughout the tour and their time together, he had tried so hard to make his intentions obvious, but it was apparent to him now that her feelings had not changed. The news of Gale and Katniss's kiss stung him the worst as he stood upright, his eyes cast on the ground.

Gale's glare shot towards Peeta but softened at the boy's expression. He suddenly remembered the regret and pity he felt for the blond back during the Homecoming feast in District 12, when Katniss had originally told him that the baker's son meant nothing to her. It just wasn't like her and even now she showed no remorse in saying similar things right in front of Peeta. He never felt more sympathy for the baker's son then he did now.

Gale set his sights back on Katniss, a lot less angry but a lot more disgusted. "Does he know that?"

Katniss glanced back at Peeta and then at Gale, tears streaming down her face. She stepped away from them, letting out a gasping sob and clutching the front of her shirt, feeling like she couldn't breathe. She was starting to panic. She had tried so hard to keep both boys happy and suddenly it felt as if that could never happen and she was going to lose them both. "If I'm s-such a bad person, then LEAVE! Both of you!"

"Katniss," Peeta tried to comfort as he stepped forward towards her, putting his hands on top of hers. "You're not, Katniss, it's okay."

Gale, however, had enough. He was fed up with the secrets, with the lying, and with the acts and not just the ones played against him. He was sick of seeing Katniss tricking everybody of Panem, including himself and Peeta. As he turned around towards the door, his mind raced, showing hypothetical situations of what could have been had she not been Reaped. They would still be in District 12, hunting together, scraping for food and, while it would be rough, he was comforted in knowing they had each other. Now he felt he had nothing, but he couldn't mentally blame her. _They _changed her and put her through all this.

He didn't walk out because he thought she was bad, like she yelled at them to. He stepped through the doorway only to clear his head. Gale didn't want to yell anymore, but he still had too much anger pent up to stay in the room any longer. Katniss fell backward onto the floor, gripping her hair and sobbing. The stress and pressure had been building for days, weeks even, with the mentoring, the worrying over Gale and Madge, and the Capitol's expectations, and Gale's anger at her had finally pushed her over the edge. She ignored Peeta, feeling as if he deserved better as well, as she gasped for breath.

Savage, however, had heard the fight along with, surely, the rest of Tributes and Mentors that were awake. However, he was the only one who had stepped into the hallway to watch, smirking. As Gale walked down the hall, his eyes narrowed slightly at seeing Savage. He was the last face the hunter wanted to see after all this. He continued to walk onward, trying to ignore the smug Career. Gale was beyond his breaking point and knew if he acknowledged him it could end badly.

Savage smirked as Gale walked past him. "District 12 is going down the tubes, huh? Your girlfriend screwing Mellark again?"


	31. Revelations

Chapter 31. Revelation

It was so fast that Gale couldn't even process how it happened. Somehow, he went from his back facing Savage to being at his side, his fist flying straight for the Career's jaw. Savage stumbled back, clutching his face. He dropped his hand from his jaw, growling, before lunging at Gale, punching him straight in the eye. The hunter took the hit, but it hardly slowed him down as he dove at Savage, slamming him against the wall. Pure rage clouded his vision and prevented him from any sort of thought process. Savage hit the wall and grasped Gale's collar with one of his hands, swinging his fist at him blindly.

Katniss, hearing the commotion, picked herself up from the floor and Peeta and sprinted into the hallway. She ran over to them, shouting "Stop!"

Gale couldn't hear her, however. He was blind and deaf to the rest of the world outside his and Savage's fight. It wasn't until Peeta ran out and pulled Gale from Savage with all his strength that Gale even comprehended his location and situation. Peeta almost threw Gale to the opposite side of the hallway before thrusting his hand on Savage's shoulder to keep him against the wall.

"Get your dirty hands off him," a female yelled at Peeta. He looked over, expecting it to be Savage's mentor but instead found District 1's female Tribute, the red haired 23 year old named Pearl, standing down the hallway. Katniss turned to look at Pearl from beside Savage and Peeta.

Katniss turned to look at Pearl quickly from beside Savage and Peeta, but Savage quickly punched her in the throat with his ham sized fist, sending her against the wall while gripping her neck, and then he kicked Peeta swiftly in the shin as soon as he looked at Pearl.

"Katniss!" Gale yelled out to her as he went for Savage, but was once again interrupted. This time, Pearl dashed to meet him halfway. She pulled out a small, pencil sized spike that almost resembled an oversized sewing needle that was tucked under her shirt as she ran before grabbing Gale by the hair and pointing it at his Adam's apple.

Katniss gasped and it almost sounded like "Gale!" but not really. Savage had punched her too hard and now she could hardly form words. Savage merely smirked at Gale from behind Pearl. Gale stood perfectly still, his eyes still glaring towards Savage though as Peeta looked up from the ground, frozen, afraid if he moved what Pearl or Savage would do.

Savage stepped up slowly until he stood next to Pearl. The demented eighteen year old traced his finger down the side of Gale's face and spoke to him, mockingly. "That wasn't a wise move, Hawthorne, _attacking _me like that. I only wanted to talk."

"Fuck off," Gale spat.

"Tsk, tsk." Savage feigned shock and lifted the huntress off the floor by her braid while she gave a soft, hoarse cry. "I think you need to remember who's in charge here."

Gale bit the inside of his cheek so hard it began to bleed slightly as his eyes flared up towards Savage, holding back a slew of other curses and threats for Katniss's sake.

Savage yanked her braid until Katniss was almost at eye level with him, her toes no longer touching the floor, eyes screwed up against the pain. She went to punch him in the face but he quickly dodged it and pulled out a small, shiny, silver dagger threateningly. "You District Twelvers have gotten too cocky since your bout of cheating during the last Games. And frankly, we're sick of it."

"Just leave her alone, I'm the one who started this," Gale tried though didn't expect it would do much.

Savage pressed the dagger against Katniss's throat where a large bruise was already forming. "Oh, no, I think this will be much more fun."

"If you're going to cut her, then do it already, Savage," Pearl complained as she gripped Gale's hair tighter. "This is getting boring."

"Patience, Pearl." Savage spoke quietly, almost reverently, trailing the sharp dagger gently down the side of Katniss's neck, causing her to bleed and whimper softly.

As the dagger moved further, a larger shadow cast itself on Savage and Katniss as a larger, calloused hand reached down, grabbing onto the blade directly and attempting to yank it from Savage's grip.

"Savage!" Pearl yelled in a delaying warning tone before Peeta, taking the only opportunity he saw thus far, jumped up and tackled Pearl away from Gale. Savage dropped Katniss's braid, sending her crashing to the floor, and spun around to face his opponent. The second he spun, Amur wasted no time in grabbing the Career by the throat with his now bloody hand and pushing him back roughly against the wall. Savage gasped as his back made contact. He glanced up and, astonished by Amur's mere size, didn't even attempt to hit him while gasping for breath under Amur's giant hand.

"How old are you?" his voice boomed at Savage, all the softness he usually had when speaking with his allies now gone and filled with emptiness.

"E-eighteen," Savage stated, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible.

"Then I won't feel sorry about this." He released his throat only for a second before grabbing onto Savage's forehead and slamming his head against the wall. Savage's eyes went out of focus for a moment before he went limp and fell down onto the floor, unconscious.

"Savage!" Pearl yelled out before managing to wrestle her way out of Peeta's grip, much to his surprise. Instead of attacking, however, she froze once up in sight of Amur, uncertain of what to do.

The fisherman turned towards Pearl before throwing the unconscious tribute towards her. "Leave," he commanded her. Pearl caught Savage before quickly heading back towards their living quarters without another word.

As Amur watched the two go, Gale raced to Katniss. The second his knees hit the ground, he reached down towards her and pulled her closely against his chest. He wanted to apologize, wanted to promise he wouldn't let them touch her again, but the ball of guilt built up in his throat made it difficult to speak.

Katniss let out a small gasp and wrapped her arms tightly around Gale, ignoring the blood still running down her neck and soaking into his shirt. "I'm... sorry... so sorry... I didn't mean to..." she forced out in a hoarse whisper, pressing her face against his chest.

"Shut up, Catnip. You have nothing to apologize for," he managed as Peeta and Amur turned towards the two. Hesitantly, Peeta kneeled down beside the two and looked down at Katniss's neck. Katniss lifted her head from Gale's chest and looked at Peeta. There was a deep cut from just below her left ear to just under the bruise forming dark purple in the center of her throat. She wiped the blood off gently with her sleeve and stood up away from both Gale and Peeta.

Both the two blinked and looked up at her sudden movement, but stayed on the ground. It was Amur who decided to make the obvious suggestion. "We should get that looked at, Miss Everdeen."

Katniss looked at Amur but shook her head gently. "It's.. okay, Amur." she forced out, keeping her sleeve pressed against it. "It would raise too many questions. Thank you.. for helping me, though."

Amur nodded in silence to her as she turned to look back down at Gale and Peeta to address them simultaneously. She stared at them for a moment before turning away so they wouldn't see the tears in her eyes. "I... don't think it would be a good idea... to continue with whatever we're doing. It's... selfish of me and... both of you deserve better. I'm... I'm s-sorry."

"Katniss," Peeta started but Gale immediately stood up and walked over to her. He wrapped his arms in an almost protective manner around her waist and pressed his forehead against the back of her shoulder.

Katniss chewed on her bottom lip and, despite her guilt, relaxed her back against his chest. "Gale..." she whispered hoarsely before trailing off, unsure.

"Forget everything that happened tonight," he whispered from behind her shoulder. He picked his head up slowly before looking back at Peeta, however his words were still meant for Katniss. "Get some sleep... without nightmares."

Katniss paused before sliding her hands softly over Gale's, nodding slightly. "Thank you."

Gale stayed, embracing her for a few more moments until he finally let his hands slide back to his sides. He turned around and walked towards Peeta and Amur.

Once in front of them, his eyes shot to the painter and he put one hand on his shoulder. Peeta gave Gale a very confused look which quickly vanished as the hunter leaned over, whispering.

"Gale," Peeta started as he took a step back, but the olive skinned Tribute just nudged his head towards Katniss, signalling for Peeta to go to her. The painter bit his bottom lip slightly before nodding as Gale and Amur began to walk away. Katniss quietly turned to watch them walk away. She hesitantly turned her eyes on Peeta, chewing on her lip, as if unsure of what he was going to say. Peeta's eyes traveled from Gale and Amur back towards Katniss. There was a moment of awkward silence before Peeta decided to make the first move. He walked over to her before putting a hand on her shoulder. "Let's go to sleep, okay?"

She nodded slightly. "I'm... sorry, Peeta," she forced out, looking at the floor.

"Come on, you've apologized enough," Peeta forced with a smile, trying to lift the mood. "Gale's not the only stubborn one, you know? I'm still going to try my hardest to win you over. But even still, if it never works... Forever, remember?"

Katniss narrowed her eyes, wanting very much to yell at him for being so damn nice to her after what she's done to both him and Gale, but found it impossible, not only because of her voice, but also because she was drained, physically and emotionally. She ended up only nodding quietly and heading back for her bedroom. Peeta followed closely after her.

* * *

><p>As Gale and Amur walked down the hallway together to find medical treatment, the fisherman looked down at the hunter. "You love her, don't you?"<p>

"I figured that much would be obvious," Gale admitted with a hollow laugh as he looked up at the taller man.

"But what you whispered to Mr. Mellark..."

Gale's eyes dropped to his feet and his hands slid into his pant's pockets. "It's just... I realized something was all. I knew it was a possibility and I knew how hard it was going to be, but fighting with Savage and Pearl... and seeing her captured like that, I realized that... I'm not as strong as I think I am. As much as I want to save everybody, I'm starting to wonder if I can even save myself. And maybe, if I didn't return, things wouldn't be so hard on her."

"You shouldn't think like that. You have allies who will help protect you so long as you do the same."

"I'm not saying I'm going out there to die. I'm just finally acknowledging there is a very good chance that I will." The naive optimism had all vanished from Gale at this point. His nerves were building and anxiety sky rocketing. The way that the hunter spoke now even sounded like he was preparing his will. As he walked, the same four words echoed throughout his mind. The words he whispered to his rival in love. _Take care of her. _


	32. Reunion

Chapter 32. Reunion

The rest of the trip seemed rather uneventful considering, especially due to the fact Gale had been popping up a lot less around Katniss, Peeta, and Madge. Somehow, Effie always managed to track him down when he was needed, but otherwise his whereabouts were a mystery. The Tour was coming to an end, however, and all that remained was the final stop at District 13.

On the first day, interviews had been schedules for Tributes and Mentors alike. While the same re-asked questions were brought up by Caesar Flickerman as they stood in front of the old, abandoned Justice Building, a few new questions had been asked from the Tributes of their knowledge of 13's rebellion. Much to everybody's relief, Gale managed to suppress broadcasting one of his rants about the Capitol and how every District should rally up and instead passed it off like he had no opinion on the matter. The reality was he had no drive anymore.

After the Tributes' interviews had concluded, all the mentors were sent to be visited by their stylists to prepare for their portion of interviews. Cinna laid out four different outfits on Katniss's bed before turning to her. "I think I'll let you decide which you prefer today, Girl on Fire."

Katniss smiled at Cinna as best she could, but her eyes were blank. With Gale avoiding her, it almost seemed as if the Girl on Fire's fire had all but disappeared. She walked over to the bed and eyed the outfits, considering. The bruise on her neck had faded into a sickly color yellow and the cut had healed up into a thick scar down her neck that didn't bother her but she did refuse to let the stylists cover it up.

"I'd suggest you choose one of the brighter outfits to match the yellow of your neck," Cinna suggested, almost in a joking tone but it was masked by unspoken concern.

Katniss spared him a small smile that didn't reach her eyes, but she picked up a white dress in the group and turned toward Cinna. "I think this will be fine, make me stand out against the ruins I guess."

"You'll always stand out, regardless of your attire."

She just nodded slightly, sadly. "Thanks Cinna."

Cinna walked over as he began to hang the other outfits in her closet. "Many look up to you because of your fire. But if it's not shining today, we may have to remedy that."

Katniss paused and sighed, looking back at him. "I just can't do it right now, Cinna. I don't think you can fix that this time."

When she turned around, however, Cinna was almost directly in front of her. He held out a large, black envelope with a silver seal with the letter P on it and brought his index finger up to his lips as if telling her to be quiet about it. She furrowed her eyebrows and reached out to take the envelope, glancing down at it and then up at him.

"If you don't tell me, I can't help," Cinna jumped right back into the conversation from before in his usual tone, almost ignoring her confused expression. However, his eyes darted down towards the parcel before he started to remove the dress from it's protective wrappings. Katniss smiled slightly and turned away from him, opening the envelope.

The envelope itself folded out into what looked like should be the letter, but it was blank. As Cinna placed the dress out, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small flashlight, lighting it on the letter as words began to appear. "I just want to help out, after all."

Once all the words appeared and Cinna put the mini flashlight away, the silver lettering were clear as day.

_Miss Katniss Everdeen + 1,_

_It seems as the Games draw closer, nothing has been accomplished. Let us gather where their ears cannot listen and their eyes cannot see. One hour past the time of the interviews, an opening has been made in every schedule. We will meet in the Justice Building's council chambers._

The letter was not signed. Katniss read the letter quietly before looking up at Cinna, sliding a smile onto her face. "Just make me beautiful, Cinna. We have to impress Panem, after all."

Cinna gave her a slight, knowing smile.

* * *

><p>As Effie led Katniss, Peeta, Madge, and Gale away from the Justice Building, behind her the camera crew was beginning to pack everything up since they were done shooting. The golden haired escort read over her book before putting it away. "Alright everybody, it seems there's a gap in the schedule so you're all free to do whatever you like, <em>within reason<em>," she commented before eyeing Gale specifically. He just shrugged, rubbing his almost fully healed black eye.

Katniss quietly glanced back at the Justice Building stealthily before staring at Gale, willing him to look at her. Gale's gaze, however, seemed to do its best to avoid her. Without a word to the others, he turned and started his way back towards the train. Katniss narrowed her eyes and ran past Madge and Peeta. She fell into step next to him. "Gale, I need you."

Gale blinked a few times but didn't looked at her. "For?"

"I... can't tell you." She glanced around briefly before her eyes landed back on the side of his face. "Just come with me. Please?"

"Whatever it is, take Peeta with you. I have things I need to do."

She huffed slightly, stopping. "Fine. I'll go alone. Thanks for nothing."

Gale didn't stop, but he closed his eyes for a brief minute as he walked away. It really was killing him to act like that with her, but in his mind, it would ultimately be for the best. Katniss bit her tongue to stop from screaming profanities at him and, instead, just turned and walked slowly toward the Justice Building, but away from Madge and Peeta so they wouldn't see her. Unfortunately, though, Peeta's eyes had rarely left her when she went off after Gale. He looked down at Madge briefly. "Madge, go on ahead, okay? I'll meet up with you with Katniss later tonight."

Madge glanced up at him and nodded. "Sure, Peeta. I'll just be on the train." She smiled at him slightly and walked off in the same direction as Gale.

Peeta watched her walk off before immediately turning and heading in the same direction as Katniss. Katniss walked a few more steps before stopping. She didn't look back; she just could hear ridiculously loud foot falls behind her. "Stop following me, Peeta."

"You're going to the Council Chambers, right?" Peeta asked with a slight laugh, knowing exactly how she discovered it was him without her even having to say it.

She paused and looked back at him, slightly annoyed. "You know too?"

He nodded as he pulled out his black envelope from his pocket. "Portia dropped it off to me. I had a feeling that whatever it was, we'd both end up there though."

"Yay." Katniss continued walking in front of him. She had put it on her top priority list to keep Peeta out of anything that didn't require mentoring or their fake relationship and that definitely included anything dangerous. On top of that, since Gale stopped talking to her, she was becoming more and more annoyed with Peeta, almost to the point of extreme aggravation.

Peeta's smile faded slightly but he followed after her, regardless. "So, any idea what this is about?"

"No," she answered shortly.

"Oh..." Peeta decided that perhaps now wasn't the best time to talk to her.

As the two eventually made it in through the dusty, unstable Justice Building, rows of doors littered the hallway. Luckily, enough of the cement directory on the wall had been left behind to tell the room number of the council chambers. Katniss stepped across the dusty, dirty floor and straight over to the directory to see where they had to go, relieved that Peeta had stopped trying to talk. According to the guide, the chambers were at the end of the hallway on their floor, which was fortunate. The ceiling above them was riddled with holes, making it seem the higher floors were not stable enough to support weight.

Katniss sighed in relief and, without looking at Peeta, began to head toward the end of the hall. Peeta followed in silence behind her until the two reached the chambers. Katniss paused before pushing open the doors. Inside, a number of other mentors were gathered around and some non-mentors as well. Joule stood off as Beetee talked with Wiress as usual, Cinna and Portia had made their way into the mix, Finnick and Annie, Johanna surprisingly stood near Chaff in clothing which was almost even more surprising. However, the most shocking two in the room would easily be Iris Everdeen who stood next to Peeta's father as they conversed with Haymitch.

Katniss's eyes wandered around, taking in the faces, before they landed on her mother. She quickly ran over and hugged her tightly around the waist. Iris caught sight of Katniss a second before her daughter's embrace. She smiled brightly before wrapping her arms around her. "Katniss..."

Katniss smiled slightly and pulled back a little, looking at her mother. "Mom. I'm so glad you're alright."

Iris had definitely thinned down since they last saw her, which was to be expected given her circumstances. She seemed a little more scratched up, tougher almost, but her almost timid demeanor was all the same. She planted a small kiss on Katniss's forehead. "It's so good to see you again."

Mr. Mellark smiled over to the two before looked back at Peeta. While his smile stayed, Peeta's face seemed to drop. "Dad," he stared, sounding less then pleased.

Katniss pressed her lips together, looking back at Peeta and letting go of her mother. Iris blinked with confusion as she watched Mr. Mellark walk over to his son. He could sense something wasn't right, but tried to push it off to just his imagination as he put a hand on Peeta's shoulder. "I've missed you."

"Yeah? Maybe you should have thought about how much you were going to miss me before you left."

Katniss narrowed her eyes. Even though she wasn't involved in the escape scheme, she started to feel defensive, since Mr. Mellark _did _risk his life for her mother.

"I'm sorry," his father suddenly said. "I heard about what happened... And I'm so sorry, Peeta."

Peeta's body tensed, and he almost looked like he was going to dive at his father. He stared up at the man for a moment before throwing his arms around his waist and clinging to his father tightly, like a child would almost.

As the scene went on, the doors to the council chambers opened once more. This time, however, the head Gamemaker, Plutarch Heavensbee himself stepped into the chambers alone. He glanced over the room with a smile. "I see almost everybody is here."

Katniss glanced away from Peeta's hug with his father, embarrassedly, at the same time and almost identically to Haymitch. However, when Plutarch walked in, her head jerked sharply toward him. Iris noted the sharp look Katniss gave the man before putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, Katniss. He's a friend."

She frowned slightly, looking back at her mother. "He's the Head Gamemaker... how...?"

"A lot has been going on in the Districts. It was odd that the Tributes weren't allowed to see or talk to any of the audience themselves during the tour, don't you think, Girl on Fire?" Cinna smiled as he walked over to their group, his head looking to Plutarch.

Katniss said nothing for a moment, thinking, before looking at Cinna. "So... what? Has there been unrest among the Districts? Rebellion?"

"Not a full blown rebellion just yet. That's why we've gathered," he admitted as his eyes scanned the room, trying to determine who was missing by doing the mental math for a split second, Cinna turned to Haymitch. "Did Effie get an invitation?"

Haymitch hesitated and nodded slightly. "I believe she did..."

Cinna hesitated and though his face didn't read it, his voice seemed to speak with a level of dread.

_"She's late."_


	33. Panic

Chapter 33. Panic

Haymitch paused for the briefest moment before he stepped away from Cinna and quickly over to Plutarch, speaking loudly. "We need to postpone for a few minutes. We have to find Effie. There's something wrong."

Plutarch's smile faded slightly before looking to Haymitch. "Impossible."

Haymitch narrowed his eyes. "It's not impossible!" he bit out, angrily. "Effie's never late."

"The time we have to be gathered is limited and, as I'm certain you've noticed or figured out, the train has eyes and ears everywhere. This is our only safe haven and chance to speak."

"Fine, then do it without me." Without waiting for a reply, Haymitch ran straight to the door and then out of the Justice Building, nervously wiping his sweaty palms on his pants.

"Haymitch!" Plutarch called out after him but he was too late.

Peeta turned to Katniss. "Katniss, you stay here. I'm going to go help Haymitch find Effie."

Katniss narrowed her eyes at him, ready to object, but then paused, thinking it was probably useful to her plan if he wasn't at this meeting. She just nodded slightly. "Be careful. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

"Yeah, I figured one of us had to," he smiled slightly before turning and running after the older Victor. As he emerged from the Justice Building, he looked around wildly, trying to find his past mentor. Haymitch was running toward the train, hoping to find a Peacekeeper to talk to and, most likely, punch in the face.

"Haymitch!" Peeta called out, spotting the man. He ran quickly to follow after him.

Haymitch paused and glanced back at Peeta, nearly barking at him. "Go back inside, Mellark!"

"Katniss and I were the last ones to see Effie," he started as he caught up, stopping only briefly to catch his breath. "She was going over everyone's schedules... Gale and Madge might know where to find her or have seen her after."

Haymitch eyed him for a moment before nodding. "Do you happen to know where either Gale or Madge are?"

"Madge is probably in her room or with Sisal, but Gale... I have no clue."

Haymitch furrowed his eyebrows but, all the same, continued on his way to the train and ran onto it. Peeta followed fast behind Haymitch. As the two ventured into the train, it seemed many of the Peacekeepers that usually remained in their rooms or with the Gamemaker were uncharacteristically scattered through the halls, like they were searching. Haymitch slowed down once on the train, as to not garner attention. He walked at a brisk pace to Madge's room, but kept his eyes on the Peacekeepers, warily. Peeta was quite impressed by how calm Haymitch remained by the Peacekeepers.

Once at Madge's door, Peeta stepped forward and knocked. "Madge? Are you in there?"

There was a brief pause before Madge opened her door, smiling. "Peeta, Haymitch, where's Kat-..." she furrowed her eyebrows, noticing Haymitch not acknowledging her, too busy looking around. "What's wrong?"

Peeta smiled at her, trying to give off the impression that everything was fine. He didn't want to have to explain what Effie was late for, especially on the train. "Nothing really, we were just looking for Effie though. Have you seen her?"

Madge furrowed her eyebrows a bit more. "Last I saw, she said she was going to her room to get changed, but-" she broke off suddenly as Haymitch turned without a thank you and headed down to the end of the train.

Peeta's eyes widened slightly at Haymitch's urgency but he quickly turned back at Madge. "Thanks Madge," was all he managed before turning to keep up with Haymitch.

The closer the two got to Effie's room the more and more Peacekeepers seemed to crowd the area until a line of three stood in front of Effie's door specifically. Haymitch gritted his teeth and clenched his fists together for a moment before stepping forward, forcing the politeness that being around Effie had taught him. "Excuse me, I need to see Effie."

Unfortunately for Haymitch and Peeta, manners weren't contagious. Two of the three Peacekeepers flat out ignored Haymitch's request as the third just gave him a stern look before replying. "None are to step in this room."

Haymitch stood up to his full height, the back of his dark neck turning red in anger. "GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY!"

The shouting gathered all three's attention, but not the kind Haymitch was hoping for. One reached into his pants pocket in a similar fashion that Thread had back in District 12 before Haymitch was shot. Peeta almost instantly recognized his actions and let his instincts react before his mind could process a thought. The painter jumped at the Peacekeeper, pushing him against the wall beside the door, trying to prevent him from arming himself. Haymitch punched one of the other Peacekeeper's across the jaw and, taking Peeta's unintended opening, dove toward the door and pushed it open.

Almost as if they were expecting a break in, two Peacekeepers who had manned themselves on either sides of the doorway jumped to action. The first grabbed onto Haymitch by the shoulder before pushing him down as the other withdrew his gun, training it towards the older Victor's head. Haymitch fell onto his knees and growled up at Peacekeeper, struggling against the other's hands. He spit at the armed Peacekeeper's shoes. "Go ahead and do it, you _fucking coward_!"

"Haymitch!" Effie's familiar voice squeaked from across the room, filled with terror. Haymitch instantly craned his head around the Peacekeeper to look towards Effie's voice.

Across the room, Effie sat with her wrists tied behind her back. Her wig and jewelry had been stripped from her and even her clothing was torn apart, her sleeves being gone from her new pink jacket. Makeup had streamed down her cheeks from tears that still fell even now as she stared with fear towards Haymitch. Scattered on the bed beside her was a variety of iron made torture tools whose makes seemed almost reminiscent of the larger ones that had been placed in District 12.

"You just can't stay out of trouble, can you, Mr. Abernathy?" Thread's cold voice echoed as he stepped out in front of Effie to block Haymitch's sights of her.

Haymitch tore his eyes from Effie's terrified face and he looked up at Thread, narrowing his eyes dangerously. "Leave her alone. She hasn't done anything."

"Hasn't she now?" Thread smirked, holding up a small, electric recorder/player. "This tells me otherwise, Abernathy."

His finger pressed the fast forward button for a moment, making the device emit gibberish until he released. Effie's voice played over for all in the room to hear.

_"You may be older than me but I never thought you were so senile! My entire career is dedicated to Katniss and Peeta now and I even helped with this entire Iris ordeal!"_

Haymitch clenched his jaw at the replay of their fight and just continued to struggle against the arms holding him back. "Effie didn't do anything! I dragged Iris Everdeen from the square! I pushed her onto that train! I DID!"

Thread pocketed the device before turning back towards Effie. "Courageous effort, breaking in here to save her, but this is more than enough to be considered a confession of treason from a Capitol citizen. You should be happy, being a Victor and all. Perhaps if you mentor next year she'll be the Avox to your District."

Haymitch pointedly ignored Thread's comment and, despite the anxiety rising high in his chest, he craned his neck to look at Effie again. He stopped straining against the man holding him, realizing it was useless. "Effie, Effie, listen. I... I love you. Don't listen to him. Don't listen to a thing he says, I swear I'm going to figure something out. And when I do, all of these bastards will pay."

Effie looked up back at him as tears started to roll down her cheeks. She was having difficulty breathing during her obvious panic attack, but her eyes stayed on his. "H-Haymitch..." she choked out as more tears fell, her body convulsing slightly. "I-I..."

Thread nodded to the Peacekeepers holding Haymitch down. Getting the hint, they forcefully pulled the man from the ground by his shoulders, guns still trained. Turning towards the door, the men literally threw him back into the hallway before slamming and locking the door behind them. Haymitch scrambled to his feet, pressing his hands back against the door. He let out a soft, heartbroken sound that was worse than the one he made when he accidentally killed Maysilee. Haymitch punched the door as hard as he could, imagining it was Thread's smug face.

Another hand reached out, grabbing Haymitch's shoulder with force. "Get the boy and leave," the Peacekeeper that Peeta attacked from before commanded.

Haymitch knocked the Peacekeeper's hand off his shoulder, turning on him, fire in his eyes. "Don't touch me unless you want to get decked."

Instantly, the man reached into his pocket but did not pull out a gun. Instead, he withdrew a boxed syringe. "I will sedate you as well if need be."

Haymitch paused at the words "as well" and turned to where he last saw Peeta. The painter laid motionless on the carpet hallway, his chest moving up and down to signal that he was still alive. He seemed bruised and his clothes showed signs of a struggle, having fought the best he could with the Peacekeepers so Haymitch could get by uninterrupted. A small trail of blood was beginning to dry up at the base of his neck where a small needle puncture laid.

Haymitch clenched his fists. He walked over and picked Peeta up, struggling a bit. He put the painter over his shoulder and held him there before turning on the Peacekeeper, hissing at him, "He's a _child_, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"If he was not a Victor, the punishment would have been worse. Be content with the fact he still breathes."

Haymitch held back from punching this Peacekeeper in the face as well for Peeta's sake. He contented himself with muttering, "Peacekeeper, my ass," before turning and heading to Peeta's room, planning on putting him there safely and then formulating a plan to help Effie.


	34. Fate

Chapter 34. Fate

As the meeting in the council chambers came to its closing, everybody in the room seemed at an agreement of the plans laid out. Katniss paused for a moment, shocked at all the information she had been given. She glanced around the room and then at Plutarch, laughing slightly. "Well, nevermind, I guess you guys have thought of everything."

Plutarch nodded before smiling at her. "Now the rest is up to your team, but we must be certain you are seen. Your face has become the image of the rebellion."

Katniss furrowed her eyebrows, shaking her head slightly. "I don't... I mean, wouldn't Peeta be better suited to do something like that? Why me?"

"You represent the strength of the people, Katniss Everdeen. It was you who first stood up against those who oppressed you and refused their laws, where Peeta represents those we cherish and cannot let die."

Katniss stared at him for a moment before nodding and glancing away, deciding it was probably futile to argue. It was almost as if Plutarch could see right into her mind, however. He walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Without you, none of this would be possible. The uprisings in the Districts would not be going on and the fall of Panem would forever be just a dream. Your influence motivates others and you must realize this. You must become the Mockingjay."

Katniss slowly looked back up at him. "I don't want to. I'm not inspiring, I'm just some poor girl from District 12. Peeta was the one who made the country fall in love with us. Peeta can be your Mockingjay. He has more influence than I do."

"Katniss, it's because that you're 'just some girl' that you are so much more influential. Yes, Peeta is necessary too, but you are our strength. If you cannot come to terms with this then everything will be for nothing."

Katniss stared at Plutarch for a long moment, her mind flitting back to Gale and what he would say. She forced a small smile, nodding slightly, knowing the rebellion was necessary. "But I won't be happy about it."

"War is never a happy thought." Plutarch stood upright before looking to the rest of the group. "For now, we retreat back to the train. Do be cautious and not all travel back in a group."

As he spoke, Iris walked towards Katniss. She smiled down at her before pulling her daughter into a hug again. "We're going to have to say goodbye again..."

Katniss wrapped her arms tightly around Iris and nodded gently against her shoulder. "Will I see you again? After all this is over?"

"We're going to have to run again, but I'm certain we'll find each other. Please, when you see Prim, tell her I'm still out here and waiting to come home again..."

"I will, Mom. She doesn't blame you."

Iris just smiled before releasing Katniss and looking her daughter in the eyes. "Take care of them. Prim, Peeta, Gale, everybody. I know you'll do great."

Katniss forced a smile and nodded. "I hope so." She turned slightly to look at Mr. Mellark. "Thank you also, Mr. Mellark. For everything. And... I'll tell Peeta you said goodbye. I'm sure he's just... busy," she finished, slightly worriedly.

Mr. Mellark smiled at her and nodded. "Good luck, both of you."

She half-smiled at both him and her mother. "And to you two."

* * *

><p>Katniss slowly made her way from the now abandoned Justice Building, her mind racing. She stepped back onto the train and headed straight toward Peeta's room to see why he hadn't come back.<p>

Peeta's breaths were far separated yet still there as a reminder the boy was still there. However, many of the bruises on his arms and face had began to swell and discolor further. His eyes stayed closed the entire time showing little to no signs of waking anytime soon. Haymitch sat close to Peeta, staring out the window. His head turned as Katniss walked in and gasped when she looked at Peeta. "What happened?"

Haymitch sighed for a moment before standing up and telling her the whole story, from leaving the Justice Building to bringing Peeta back to his room. Katniss listened, horrified as more and more of the story was revealed. She sat on the bed next to Peeta, running her hand through his hair.

"What are we going to do with Effie?" She asked, sounding anxious.

Haymitch said nothing and just shook his head, looking back out of the window.

"S...she's still... o-on the train..." Peeta's voice was very strained and his eyes still didn't open.

Katniss glanced down at Peeta, surprised, but continued to gently run her fingers through his hair. "Well, if she's on the train, then doing nothing isn't good enough. We need to break in and-"

Haymitch cut her off. "And what, Katniss? Send her off like we did your mother into the wilderness? We can't hide her, it's impossible with all these jackass Peacekeepers. And she can't go out into the woods alone, she won't make it."

Peeta slowly opened his eyes. He stared towards Katniss for a long moment before shifting his gaze to Haymitch. He didn't know what to say and wasn't even sure if he'd be able to actually say anything. Katniss narrowed her eyes, pulling her hand from Peeta's hair and crossing her arms. "We can't LEAVE her there! You can go with her!"

Haymitch paused and then just glanced at Katniss. "There's no way. There are dozens of Peacekeepers and heightened security since your mother. We'll have to think of something, but there's nothing to do tonight."

Katniss opened her mouth to protest but Haymitch just headed to the door. "Don't, Katniss. No one is more upset over this than I am, so don't say anything. I don't think there's anything we can do," he said quietly, pushing open the door and leaving Katniss to take care of Peeta.

Peeta just watched as Haymitch walked away, frowning. He felt extremely bad for Haymitch and worse that he couldn't help anymore. Katniss turned slowly back toward Peeta, running her hand back through his hair. "At least... you're kind of okay. We were worried."

His head turned slowly at her, his motor skills delaying but still managing to will his body to move to small degrees. "S-sorry..."

"It's not your fault," she said softly, moving her hand from his hair to his cheek. She smiled slightly. "You are stupid, though. You need to stop tackling Peacekeepers."

He did his best to crack a very small smile, though it was hardly noticeable. Katniss forced a smile back at him, but decided that Peeta probably didn't want to talk anymore, so she fell quiet and just continued stroking his hair, gently and soothingly.

* * *

><p>When Katniss had first been reunited with her mother and they began planning the escape, she had felt almost happy for the first time in months. Quickly, that feeling had disappeared. More stress had piled on, between worrying about Gale and Madge and having to become the Mockingjay, and she felt as though she were alone with no one to listen.<p>

With no signs of Effie, there was nobody there to gather the group together when the tributes or mentors from District 12 were needed. The following week had no schedule as the bullet train made its final journey back to the Capitol. However, it took the majority of the week for Peeta to gain all his motor skills back and the drug to fully wear off. It wasn't until the third day that Peeta was able to talk in complete sentences again and inform them the Peacekeepers had shot him up four times during the brawl.

As the train came to a stop at the Capitol's station, Gale never felt so nervous in his life. He had started thinking how he should have ran away at District 13 or at least attempted to get himself and the others free. He was beginning to comprehend just how helpless he had become. Madge, however, instead of feeling anxious and helpless like Gale, felt confident in the upcoming Games. She was confident in their alliance and, most of all, she was confident in Gale's abilities to protect them all and Katniss's abilities to formulate a plan to get them all out alive.

Katniss looked at Gale, Madge, and Peeta as the train quickly slowed to a stop, her face blank. She stood up, taking the place of Effie unsuccessfully, motioning for them to follow her as she headed off the train and back up to their Capitol living space. Everybody followed after her, but Gale took mind to stay in the back of the group. He walked, taking in everything he could in his surroundings, like he was going to drop dead at any moment. He didn't like thinking like that so he quickly turned his head to stare towards Madge's hair.

Katniss led the silent group back up to District 12's living quarters. She looked at them all for a long moment and then tried to smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Well... I guess we should all go to sleep. Big day tomorrow."

Peeta frowned, able to see the obvious amount of stress in her eyes. He nodded though, deciding it was best to not try just yet. Nothing he said would make her feel better about tomorrow. Instead, he turned and retreated toward his room to give Katniss, Madge, and Gale their time together while they could.

Katniss pressed her lips together and looked at both Gale and Madge for a long moment. She turned and pulled Madge into her arms. "In case I don't see you tomorrow."

Madge, visibly distressed, kissed Katniss's cheek once before pulling back. "I love you, Katniss. I believe in you."

Katniss gave her a watery smile and Madge returned it before bowing her head slightly and leaving back to her bedroom as well, leaving Gale and Katniss in their awkward silence.

Gale's eyes followed after Madge, slightly wanting to follow after her but his feet refused to walk. As much as he wanted to abandon his feelings for Katniss, he knew he never could. He knew it was for the best and knew he would probably die out there, but still.

He felt selfish.

Katniss paused for a moment, feeling an almost unbearable amount of anxiety course through her at being alone with Gale for the first time in what seemed like forever. She quietly stepped forward so she was right in front of him and took something out of her pocket. She reached up and silently fastened her Mockingjay pin to his shirt. Gale furrowed his eyebrows before looking down at his shirt. Slowly, he put his hand over it before looking back up at her, deciding to finally break the silence. "Katniss, I..."

"It's okay, Gale." She spoke quietly without meeting his eyes. "Just remember that I'm with you there in the Arena and I'm watching you always. I know you hate me now or... you know, whatever you feel. But I can't stop loving you. And I want that pin back. I promise you that you'll be out of there." She looked up at him with a look in her eyes like she had found the perfect shot with her arrow but had to give him a message silently, as to not scare off her prey.

"I know you will."

Gale almost immediately recognized the look in her eyes. His hand slowly lowered from the pin before grabbing onto her forearms and pulling her in closer. Without a word or second thought, he leaned in and kissed her. Katniss gasped when his lips touched hers but she immediately curled her hands in his shirt, kissing him back hard, passionately, desperately, and in a way she never had before. Gale's arms wrapped tightly around her, almost afraid of letting go. Afraid that the minute he did, she would disappear. All the time since he told Peeta to keep her safe, he had tried his hardest to give up on her. Instead, all he managed to do was discover just how badly he really needed Katniss, how it would be impossible to ever really let her go.

Katniss deliriously ran her fingers through his hair, pressing her body as close as she could against his. Since Gale started avoiding her, she had feared she had lost him forever. Suddenly, with him back in her arms and the looming danger of the Games over their heads, she felt desperate to not stop kissing him until he made her.

After what felt like an eternity but, at the same time, wasn't nearly long enough, Gale pulled his head back only slightly. He rested his forehead against hers, still afraid to let her go but needing to catch his breath. He opened his eyes slowly to look down at her, running a hand through her hair but lightly enough to not pull on the braid. "Katniss... I could never do anything but love you."

Katniss kept her eyes closed after his confession, panting slightly against his lips. She slowly opened her eyes and looked into his, furrowing her eyebrows, almost like she was in pain. "Don't _ever _treat me like you have been lately ever again. I can't... I couldn't take it if you stopped loving me, Gale. I know that sounds terrible... but it hurt."

He nodded slightly as he bit his bottom lip. "I just thought... it would be easier."

She couldn't help the slightly smug smirk that suddenly appeared on her face as she curled her fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck. "How did that work out for you?"

"It was by far the worst idea I've ever had in my life."

Her smirk disappeared and she frowned. She leaned in and pressed a kiss against his mouth once. "I agree."

Once she pulled her head back, Gale pulled her in for a closer embrace as he rested his head against the side of hers. He hesitated for a moment before whispering lightly in her ear, "I know you usually stay with Peeta because of your nightmares but... maybe just for tonight..."

Katniss just pressed her nose against Gale's shirt and nodded gently after a moment. "Anything you want, Gale."


	35. Token

Chapter 35. Token

In the morning, Gale remained asleep beside Katniss, his arms wrapped almost protectively around her during their slumber. It wasn't until a knock came from the door that the hunter forced his eyes open to the world. He looked toward the knocking, expecting to see Effie walk in, going over his schedule for the day. That was, until his memory returned to him as his grogginess vanished, when Cinna entered the room.

Katniss, having slept better than she had in months, slowly opened her eyes and focused on Cinna. She glanced down at the dark arms that were wrapped around her, instead of the usual pale ones, and she smiled before hearing Cinna's words.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," the stylist apologized as he looked towards the two still in bed. "But it's time."

She slowly turned her head back to look at Gale, chewing on her lip, cheeks pink from being caught by Cinna. "You'll be fine."

Gale nodded as he pulled his arms out from around her. He leaned down, kissing her briefly, before standing. "I know. And Katniss, remember, I love you."

Katniss reached over after he stood up and grabbed his hand, squeezing it once gently. "I love you, Gale. Be careful."

He only had enough time to give her one final smile and squeeze of the hand before he had to let go. Turning away, he walked out of the room with Cinna at his side. It was finally time for the Games to begin.

* * *

><p>It wasn't long after Cinna took Gale away that a Peacekeeper came to collect Katniss. Normally, Effie would be in charge of gathering the mentors, but since that was impossible, Katniss now had to deal with the very strict man at her door. "Let's go," he demanded.<p>

Katniss glanced at the Peacekeeper, still curled up in her bed, deep in thought. She grumbled and crawled out of bed, giving the man an annoyed look. "A please would be nice."

She received no answer as the man turned and started walking off, not waiting for her to follow. Katniss frowned, but followed after the Peacekeeper, slowly braiding her hair back into its signature fashion. The Peacekeeper led her down hallway to hallway, eventually meeting up with a second Peacekeeper who had Peeta at his side. The four continued onward until reaching a larger room near what had to be the top floor of the building. Inside, 24 televisions had been set up, all aimed at empty pods in the Arena. Pods for the Tributes to stand upon.

As Katniss walked into the room and saw the televisions, she turned slightly to look at Peeta, furrowing her eyebrows, as if just now realizing how real all this was. As if just now realizing how Madge and Gale could easily die. Peeta saw the look in her eyes and almost instantly grabbed hold of her hand. He had no idea what had been talked about at the Justice Building and was never informed because of his drugged condition, so everything seemed much more anxious to him. Still, he tried to smile. "It'll be okay," he tried.

Katniss gave him a slight smile when he took her hand before nodding. "I hope so."

"This is where you will remain for the duration of the Games," the Peacekeeper who led Katniss spoke up. He then pointed toward one wall of the room which had 24 doors on it, each pair having a number from one to twelve. "Those will be your living quarters for rest. Your wardrobes have already been brought to your indicated room and meals will come three times a day. Go get dressed and you will be summoned from your rooms when the Games begin."

Katniss stared at the Peacekeeper for a moment before beginning to walk toward the doors with "12"s on them, pulling Peeta next to her by their joined hands.

"This seems very... prison-like," she told Peeta, voice low.

Peeta nodded as he squeezed her hand a little and looked at her. Once they reached the two doors, he stopped and looked back. "I guess I'll see you when we're 'released'."

She nodded at him with a small smile, dropping his hand. She turned quietly and walked into her designated room. If the outside didn't make the situation seem like a jail sentence enough, the poorly lit room that lacked any color except shades of white and grey sure did. The bed was just large enough for one person to fit and an outfit was laid out for her to wear. The only object with any color was a small necklace box that was laid next to the clothes.

Katniss grimaced as soon as she closed the door behind her. She quietly walked over to the small bed and looked down at the necklace box that stood out brightly against the drabness of the room. She slowly reached down and picked it up, opening it. Inside, the golden necklace Effie had purchased for Gale laid loosely against the cardboard of the box, no cotton to keep its place. Written very sloppily, like it was rushed, were the words "I'm with you too" on the inside of the box.

Katniss's eyes instantly filled up with tears and she took the necklace delicately out of the box. She slipped it over her head and held the end of it gently in her hand before sitting down on the small bed. Covering her face with her hands, she finally allowed herself to cry quietly now that she was alone in her near-prison cell.

* * *

><p>An alarm blared through out the rooms as every mentor's door swung open simultaneously. One by one, mentors began to emerge and take a seat on the chairs that had been placed before each television. Bottles of water and various other colored and sugared beverages laid out as their only current form of nourishment. On the televisions, all 24 Tributes stood on their pods, waiting for the Games to officially begin. Katniss silently left her "room" and walked down to the chair that was in front of Gale's television. She sat down, clutching the tag on Gale's necklace tightly, but that was the only sign of her anxiety. She kept her eyes and face blank as she stared at him on his pod as Caesar Flickerman's voice boomed over the screens the phrase "Ladies and Gentlemen, let the seventy-fifth Hunger Games begin!"<p>

Inside, Gale remained completely still, like a statue as he waited for the gong to go off. On the outside, he looked focused, calm even. But inside, he was experiencing a level of fear unlike anything he's ever felt before. His eyes scanned around the Arena circling him, taking in everybody's locations. Madge was exactly five pods away from him. Amur, seven to his left. By the fact that he could not find Sage's boyish face on his side, he reasoned the child was directly opposite of him, behind the Cornucopia. He cursed under his breath, knowing this was on purpose. The Gamemakers were trying to force him to rush to the horn.

Madge scanned the pods as well and was unable to find Sisal. She slowly turned her eyes toward Gale, ready to watch him for guidance. Although her face was serious, almost sad, her eyes were screaming. Suddenly being surrounded by large Careers, she felt as though her confidence had been premature and, instead, fear was beginning to rise up in her chest, threatening to choke her. Gale could feel Madge's gaze on him and could barely make out Sisal from across the horn. He knew there was a good chance of death at that horn and more so if he and Madge both went in. He turned his head towards the mayor's daughter and looked directly at her, his eyes shifting towards Amur, trying to give hints to a silent strategy.

Madge gave the hunter an almost imperceptible nod, glancing at Amur for a moment, before shifting her eyes back on the Cornucopia. Gale's eyes shifted back slowly as he began to gauge all the items at the horn. If he was going to have to pass it to get to Sisal and Sage, he might as well see if there was anything worth grabbing. A few backpacks littered the area and some general supplies, but his eyes stopped on the large pile of rope. To many of the other Tributes, he was certain the pile would be useless, but for his snares it was almost a necessity of survival.

Savage had finished taking inventory of the supplies and kept his eyes on Gale, like a hunter eyeing his prey. Ivy, the large District 2 female Tribute, stood next to him with a similar look in her eye as she stared at Willow, who looked extremely serene, from across the Cornucopia, like she was ready to rip Willow's small body limb from limb and bathe in the blood. As the dark haired hunter eyed the rope, he spotted Savage from the corner of his eye and nearly froze. He knew if he ran in, the boy would be right on his trail. Even worse, Savage might take Sisal or Sage hostage like he did Katniss. He was torn.

Suddenly, the gong sounded, telling the Tributes the Games have officially begun. Automatically, as if anticipating it, Willow sprinted off her pod before anyone else even thought about moving. She quickly grabbed four backpacks, two in each hand, anticipating the need with their large alliance. Gale's mind halted all thought as his feet just began to move, racing towards - no, beyond - the horn. He didn't even stop to look back towards Madge or Amur, hoping his silent hints for them to run off would be heeded. He spotted Willow so far ahead, amazed at her speed and what all she grabbed for. Any doubts he had about her vanished instantly. He turned his head back up, trying to focus again on Sage and Sisal, trying to find them in the chaos.

Madge quickly sprinted from her pod toward Amur, though there was no need. No Tributes even paid her attention; they were focused on either on Gale and Willow or trying to get supplies.

"Gale!" Willow barked at him from on top of the Cornucopia, knowing their only chance was if she got high enough to see everyone from a vantage point. She pointed toward Sage and Sisal, who were trapped in a group of Tributes from 6 and 8, all rushing toward the Cornucopia. She quickly threw a knife from one of the backpacks at Gale but, instead of hitting him, it soared over his head and hit Savage, who was running up behind him, in the shoulder. Gale followed the direction she pointed and gave her a knowing nod, faintly able to hear Savage behind him get hit. He knew he couldn't hesitate to look back as he ran immediately towards Sage and Sisal. Willow quickly jumped off the horn and ran to Savage to retrieve her knife from his injured body, since every weapon was precious at this point.

As Gale leaped over and around various objects and Tributes, cannons began to fire above them, but he still pressed on. There was no time to check for the dead, he just pressed on until he was close enough. "Sage, Sisal!"

Sage reached out through the crowd of people he was stuck in and curled his tiny hand into Gale's shirt, pulling himself out. Gale immediately picked Sage up in his arms and pulled the boy's head into his shoulder, reminiscent of the way he held Posy during Panem's broadcasts. Sage just pressed his face against Gale's neck and refused to look around anymore, frightened by the cannons and the screams. Also among the crowd, he spotted Sisal who was wandering almost lost-like but also searchingly. "Sisal, over here!" he yelled before grabbing her wrist.

Having not heard his voice in the crowd, she turned to swing a punch towards Gale but managed to stop herself as she recognized him. "You're Madge's..."

Willow took her knife and the backpack and rope Savage had managed to get while he lay on the ground, gripping his shoulder. She quickly spun and slit the throat of Ivy as she attempted to sneak up on Willow. Then she sprinted off in search of Joule, knowing from Finnick that she was a necessity to the alliance. As Willow searched around for Joule, a spear came down, aiming for her calf as a male tribute from District 10 went to stab into her from behind.

Willow saw him out of the corner of her eye and quickly snapped her foot backward, snapping the spear in half with a swift kick. She spun around quickly and rammed her knife at him, toward his neck. While she was fast, the boy was nimble too. He turned his head away just in time as he jerked his body forward to thrust the spear into her arm. As he jerked, however, a line of red suddenly appeared around his neck and the spear went off to her forearm instead, blood falling from his mouth.

Willow growled as the spear pierced her forearm, but that was her only reaction. She quickly pulled the spear out of her arm and turned her neck to look at her savior. Joule yanked the wire from the boy's neck before turning back towards Willow, a backpack on her back as well as a sack of mystery items tied to her belt. "Hurry," she said quickly.

Willow nodded hurriedly, looking at her questioningly. "Seen Gale?"

"Just Amur and Madge," she nudged her head towards the opposite direction of Gale, Sisal, and Sage.

"Make sure Amur and Madge are alright. I'll get them." Willow said, nodding at Joule once, before turning to run back towards Gale, Sisal, and Sage.

"We can't keep treading here!" she called as she grabbed her wrist before she could run off and pulled her closely in so she could whisper. Or, what would be considered a whisper in the chaos around them. "It's getting too dangerous. North is a river. We'll regroup."

"We can't leave them here! They're not capable." Willow bit back at her, pulling her wrist away.

"You go to Gale and the others, I'll lead Amur and Madge. Meet within the next three hours," she said before turning and starting off in the opposite direction.


	36. Light

Chapter 36. Light

Far from the Cornucopia, the groups were finally able to gauge their surroundings. For being an Arena for the Games, this year they had decided to make water a major factor as swamp like areas covered a majority of the land. Even the grass Gale's group walked on now was damp and squished under their feet. He noted that any sort of sneak attacks on ground like this was useless. How he wished he had that rope now.

Gale continued to walk on, carrying Sage in his big-brother like protective manner. The horn was far from their view now, but the fear he felt being near was still very real. He tried his hardest to hold in his fear to prevent himself from shaking, not wanting to worry Sage any more than the child already was. Sage had calmed down enough to lift his head from Gale's shoulder, but he continued to grip Gale's shirt tightly in his small hands. His eyes were red from crying since clearly a boy of five wouldn't be used to the bloodbath that was the Cornucopia.

Willow led the pack silently, holding the blood soaked spear she pulled from her arm over her shoulder. She had tore off her shirt sleeve and wrapped it tightly around the wound in her arm. The blood had quickly soaked through, but she refused to take notice of it. Sisal, however, did notice. "Willow, your arm hasn't stopped the entire hour we've walked."

Willow merely shrugged, tossing Sisal one of the five backpacks she had accumulated that were lining her good arm. "It doesn't hurt. Find something for the kid to eat, he looks like he's going to faint."

Sisal caught it and began to look through its contents. She found a can of beans but had nothing to open it with, an empty vial for holding water, a loaf of bread, a sleeping bag, and a flashlight. She pulled out the bread and handed it to Sage and Gale, but then turned back towards Willow. "If you lose too much blood, you'll get groggy, slower, and weaker..."

"Impossible. I don't get weak. We have to reach the river." Willow replied, shifting the spear onto her other shoulder. Sage eyed the end of the bloody spear with wide eyes, ripping off a piece of the bread in Gale's hands and chewing on it.

"You're not invincible," Sisal muttered as she put the backpack on her own back, but her eyes were shifting around the Arena, searching. "And how do we even know there is a river? What if it's a trap?"

"It's not," Willow replied simply, ignoring Sisal's previous comment.

"How can you be so sure?"

From behind her, Gale immediately slapped his hand over her mouth. "Stop. You're being too noisy."

Willow stopped suddenly, glancing around at the trees for a moment, before turning to address the three of them, but mainly Sisal, lowering her voice. "Listen. Don't argue with me unless you want someone to hear you and come and kill you. I'm not your damn body guard and I'm not going to risk my life to save yours. Got it? We've got a plan and we've got to meet up with the other Tributes north at the river. If you've got a problem with it, no one's forcing you to stay."

Sisal pulled Gale's hand from her mouth, her eyes narrowing back. "I didn't ask to be a part of this alliance. I only have one goal in this Arena and that's to kill Leaf, which Madge told me this alliance would help with."

Willow stared at Sisal for a few moments, stony faced. "We can help you with that, and we will, if he crosses our path. However, you will fail alone."

Sisal just bit her bottom lip, getting sick of people telling her that. But she kept her mouth shut and just turned her head away, spotting some very large and long blades of grass. She reached down, stuffing two handfuls into the backpack before starting to walk again without a word. As she walked, she pulled out the blades and began to weave them to calm herself. Willow looked at Gale and Sage for a moment before following Sisal, murmuring something that sounded like "crazy".

While Gale agreed with Willow on most of her points, he couldn't help but feel bad for Sisal. If he had been closer to her, or if Leaf had done anything like that to the women close to him, he knew he would act just as recklessly as Sisal was.

As he thought about this, his mind raced back to the train when he fought with Savage and Pearl and how Katniss was hurt because of it. He remembered the anger and pure rage he felt towards the District 1 Careers. He also wondered if Savage was even still alive. Willow, however, didn't care about petty emotions. As far as she was concerned, they were all fighting for their lives and she wasn't selfish to be concerned with herself first. While she was sure Sisal was feeling vast amounts of pain, that was just weakness that could be used against all of them. In her opinion, Sisal would be weeded off soon if she didn't get her emotions under control.

Willow quietly dug through one of her many backpacks and held out the pile of rope she had taken off of Savage toward Gale's free arm that wasn't holding Sage. "I saw you eyeing this."

Gale blinked himself out of his thoughts before looking down at the rope. For the first time since entering the Arena, he smiled widely before taking the ropes. "You're the best, Willow."

Willow smiled slightly and even that looked strange on her permanently serious face. "I figured it must have been important if both you and Savage were after it."

"I don't know why he would want it, but I know things just got a little easier for us now," he laughed before slinging the rope around his shoulder. His confidence was coming back as he began to run through all the various snares and traps he should set once they make camp.

* * *

><p>Willow silently led Sage, Gale, and Sisal north for what seemed like forever until they reached a river. Not much open space was to be found except right at the coast of the river bed itself. The trees were thick and close together, congregated in a way that made them perfect for hiding out in as well as setting traps up around, Gale noted to himself. Thick vines swayed back and forth in the breeze from the countless branches, causing Sisal to jump every time she saw one from her peripheral, thinking it might be an enemy.<p>

Willow slightly raised her eyebrow, realizing that Joule knew what she was talking about. She held her bloody arm out so the three stopped behind her, still in the trees, not wanting to walk out until she was sure Joule, Amur, and Madge were there. As the group stood still, a metal discus dropped itself from above them, landing inches away from Willow's feet. Willow didn't jump when the discus fell. However, she did bend down and pick it up before turning and looking above them.

Gale had to immediately hide Sage's face and slap his hand again on Sisal's mouth to prevent either of them from shrieking at the sight. High in the tree, Joule sat on a branch, her face and arms beginning to turn purple as, around her, a large boa constrictor was slowly squeezing its body more and more around her. Her good eye was closed as she tried to keep her body relaxed, knowing that causing her body to tense any further would only help the creature's goal become reality faster.

Willow's eyes widened a fraction before she quickly grabbed hold of one of the thick vines swinging around them, holding her knife between her teeth. She climbed it quickly with her impressive speed and hopped onto the branch gracefully and brought her knife down toward the distracted boa, slicing it in half.

As the snake fell from Joule's body, she only took a minute to gasp for air before grabbing Willow and pulling her into an uncharacteristic hug. Before the District 4 Tribute could even think of reacting, Joule jumped from the tree as three more snakes dove for the two of them.

"Sisal!" Gale only had time to say before pushing Sage into her arms. He then turned and ran for the falling Joule and Willow, getting there just in time to catch the two. The force caused him to fall to the ground, but no serious damage was done to any of them. Willow quickly disentangled herself from Gale and Joule on the ground. She scrambled across the earth over to her fallen backpacks, breathing hard, a look of fear all over her usual blank face.

After Willow was off him, Gale got up quickly, carrying Joule. The one eyed tribute was still panting and discolored, unable to function properly. His eyes raced towards the branch where now five snakes lurked, each eyeing the Tributes below. Able to see them more clearly now and without distraction, Gale noticed as one hissed that orange fluid practically flooded from their fangs and their eyes matched the same hue of orange. _Mutts_.

Willow got shakily to her feet, the color draining from her tanned face at the sight of all the snakes, clearly a serious fear for her. Hands shaking, she secured the grip of her knife in one hand and the spear in her other. "Run!"

"They're mutts, you can't fight these off alone!" Gale yelled as he quickly shifted Joule to one arm and tried to pull Willow away as he went to run.

Willow, despite having a need to appear fearless and invincible, lowered her spear, staring at the snakes. She nodded slightly, tightened her hand around Gale's and took off running in the opposite direction. Their sudden movements only caused the snakes to direct all their attention at the group. Darting from tree to tree above them, the five serpents hissed in pursuit of the group. Gale did his best to keep up to Willow and Sisal, but the added weight of the 19 year old Joule in his arm slowed him down to a much slower speed than he was capable of.

"T-they... are close..." Joule choked before actually beginning to cough almost violently into Gale's shoulder. Even though her voice was forced, the tone of her voice and how it wasn't panicked signaled she wasn't speaking about the snakes.

Willow growled, realizing she was being slowed down. She held the four backpacks, two on each of her shoulders, and quickly threw her spear at one of the snakes, sending it down the snake's open mouth and into it's throat. She smirked in victory as it fell from the tree and then turned slightly to address Joule. "Amur and Madge? Where did you leave them?"

Joule turned her head up as she coughed to check her surroundings. "T-twenty meters... w-wire trap..."

Gale's eyes almost lit up at Joule's information. His mind raced over everything for a moment before turning to Sisal. "Sisal! Sage! One of you toss me the flashlight from your backpack! Willow, I'm going to need you to take Joule."

Willow glanced back at him for a moment but didn't question him. She grabbed Joule quickly from Gale's arms and, despite her small size, lurched the larger girl upwards onto her back. Sage quickly rifled through the backpack and shoved the flashlight toward Gale. The hunter took the flashlight before pointing east for Willow and Sisal as he turned on the light. "Go off and meet up with me where Amur and Madge are in a half hour! I'll take care of the snakes!"

Before they could even answer back, Gale stopped his run entirely and turned towards the serpents in the trees, flashing the light towards each as he tried to distract their attention from the group. Willow hiked Joule up higher on her back and tossed her knife at Gale's feet, just in case he needed it. She then grabbed Sisal's hand and took off in the direction Gale pointed, not looking back at the most horrifying creatures she had ever seen.

Meanwhile, back in the Capitol, Katniss had abandoned holding the tag of Gale's necklace and, instead, grasped the edges of the table, her face bright red in worry as she stared at his on the screen. "Run, you idiot!"

Peeta, who was sitting next to her, looked away from the screen with Madge and Amur camping high in the trees and looked toward Gale's television. He bit his lip a little as the snake mutts all turned at Gale and the chase began, the hunter only having enough time to grab the knife before running. "I'm sure he has a plan..."

Katniss only covered her eyes, unable to look at the screen anymore. "He's just being a stupid hero."

"Katniss..."

Back in the Arena, Gale darted in the direction Joule said Amur and Madge were. The snakes continued to dart after him, even though the beam of light from his flashlight bounced wildly in front of him. His heart was pounding so loudly in his ears he could hardly hear the hissing over his shoulder, but he still remained focused. He had to survive this or he knew his death would be slow and painful.

When he finally saw the shine of the wire trap Joule set up, he almost smiled. The light from the device in his hand illuminated the area between two trees, which had the girl's wire strung between them tightly enough to be invisible in the shadows of the trees. He ran until he was almost touching it before turning back to the snakes.

Almost like on cue, the serpents dove in a group at him, fangs out and aimed for his throat. Gale wasted no time as he jumped out of the way and onto the ground. The tightened wire shredded the snakes almost instantly, turning the power of their thrusts into it against them.

Katniss froze at the silence and she slowly peeked at the screen from between her fingers and then dropped her hands in amazement. She fell quiet as a slow smile spread across her face, realizing again something she had forgotten: Gale was more than capable of taking care of himself and everyone around him.


	37. Night

Chapter 37. Night

Madge, her pale hair packed with dirt and mud to keep her camouflaged, sat up in a tree a few branches above Amur. Her ears perked up when she heard feet running and she crawled out on her branch, looking down anxiously and watching as Gale outsmarted the four muttation snakes. Amur, caked in similar colors and mediums as Madge, looked up to the blond girl cautiously to first gauge what she wanted to do, while Gale fell to his knees on the ground. His heart was still racing but he knew he was safe from at least that danger. Still, his eyes shot back and forth rapidly, waiting for something else to jump out at him.

Madge furrowed her eyebrows, concerned for Gale, and glanced at Amur before carefully crawling down from her spot in their tree. She jumped down once she was close enough to the bottom and landed a few yards from Gale. Hearing the noise, Gale immediately was on alert. He held up the knife Willow had given him and looked towards the source of the sound.

Madge held up her hands quickly, stepping toward him a few steps, her blue eyes widening comically. "Gale, it's just me."

"Christ, Madge. Warn me a little before you go jumping from tree tops," Gale sighed as he pocketed the knife and walked towards her.

Madge bit her lip, ashamed, but then threw her arms around his neck tightly as soon as he was close enough. Sitting alone in a tree with Amur for an elongated period of time had left her scared that Gale hadn't made it. The hunter blinked a few times, a little surprised at her sudden actions, but he quickly embraced her back. He pulled back slightly, smiling at her. "Come on, let's get behind that wire trap and wait for the others."

Madge's cheeks turned red under her camouflage but she just nodded. She turned and looked up at the tree Amur was in, motioning for him to come down as well. Taking the hint, Amur climbed down from the tree before leaping the rest of the way. The man walked over towards them, but his eyes were on Gale. "Who all is coming?" he asked, a hint of concern in his tone.

"Willow, Joule, Sisal, and Sage should be here within the half hour."

Madge turned to look at Gale, concerned. "They left you alone to deal with all those mutts?"

"I told them to," he shrugged as he put the flashlight in his pocket. "Joule was too hurt by then to do anything and I think Willow has a snake phobia."

Madge's eyebrows shot up with a slight, amused smile. "Willow? A snake phobia?"

"Don't tell her I told you that," he snickered before looking at them. "We shouldn't stand down here, we need to get up high so we can see better."

"The tree we were in is pretty sturdy," Madge stated, pointing up at it. "But if we jump down from it, Willow might think we're muttation snakes and kill us."

"Then we don't jump," he mused as he started back up the tree Amur and Madge came down from.

* * *

><p>About fifteen minutes later, Willow came skidding to a halt right in front of the wire trap, Joule still on her back. She squeaked as her boots came in contact with snake innards and she saw all the serpents sliced into pieces. She shivered slightly, but glanced around for Gale.<p>

In the same way Joule had hinted to Willow of her presence, Gale dropped the small knife in his pocket to the base of the tree. Willow's head snapped toward the knife and she slowly turned her head up toward them in the tree. From atop the tree, Gale smiled down at her and waved. She let out a small sigh of relief.

"Get down from there. I don't want to have to rescue someone else in case there's another snake."

Gale climbed down to regroup. Once he, Amur, and Madge were at ground level, he immediately looked towards Joule. "How's she doing?"

"I'll be fine," Joule answered. The color was all back in her naturally paler skin, but she still had a bit of a pant. Carefully, she stepped down from Willow's back. "Sorry I was a burden..."

Willow let go of her and handed her one of her backpacks, unable to keep holding onto four and figuring Joule probably needed to eat something. "You weren't. But now we're even since you helped me at the Cornucopia."

Joule took the backpack, but didn't go through it. Instead she put it on her back securely, knowing they'd have to ration their limited food and resources. "Fine. But for now, we need to find a place to make camp that's not infested with those muttations."

Willow nodded at her slightly and turned to address the rest of the group. "I'm guessing it's safe to assume the river is a no-go."

"It's too open of an area. Though we will need water soon. Regardless of the Arena being damp, a lot of the water isn't fit for consumption," Amur began to explain. If anybody knew about drinkable waters in this team, it would be either he or Willow.

"Sounds good," Gale nodded before looking over towards Sisal and Sage. "Are you two holding out okay?"

Sisal bit her bottom lip but nodded. Sage was still cradled in her arms and she was holding him close. Sage lifted his eyes from the snakes littered on the ground to Gale and nodded a little as well. Willow handed a backpack to Amur and another one to Madge so she only had one left, stepping over the snake remains carefully. As Amur and Madge took the backpacks, Joule stood upright and looked around her surroundings again, as if trying to remember something. "We can circle the river until we find a more forested area on the coast. Though there's probably snakes all throughout the area surrounding the water."

"We're staying away from snakes," Willow stated, decisively. "That's just not happening. We can go deeper in the woods and go around the river that way, but we're not getting too close."

"Maybe there's another source of water?" Sisal tried, trying to be useful. Joule, however, shook her head.

"They have it set up like this for a reason. One river for everyone to gather around and meet up eventually. Once we're away from the river, we're away from the best water source we'll find in this Arena."

Willow clenched her jaw, looking at them for a moment. "Fine. We'll go get it now. I'll go," she stated unhappily, holding up her backpack as she packed it with all the empty water skins and iodine from Amur and Madge's packs.

"We're going to need protection back here with the group. Willow, if you can give me a few minutes, I can set up some snares around the wire trap so this entire place is as secure as it can get."

Willow nodded slightly, even as her face registered vague surprise at Gale's words. "You can do snares? How did you learn that in District 12?"

Gale pulled the rope from off his shoulder and smiled towards Willow. "I've taught myself a few tricks that some groups of people wouldn't appreciate of."

Willow slowly smiled her first genuine smile since the Games, maybe even since arriving at the Capitol. "Of course you did."

Gale smiled a bit wider before getting to work with the rope. Being careful to only use as much as needed, the hunter set up a variety of traps surrounding the wire trap. He separated them enough so the group would be almost circled in, but enough room that they wouldn't have to congregate too closely. The entire process took him about twenty minutes, during which Amur and a now mostly recovered Joule kept watch over his back.

Sisal sat with Madge and Sage in a branch, going through the items they had at their disposal. Around three loafs of bread, two packets of crackers, two cans of beans with no can openers, one flashlight with extra batteries, a large bag of some sort of trail mix, three sleeping bags, and a pair of night vision glasses identical to the ones Katniss had gotten. This all did not include the water skins, iodine, or anything else Willow had in the backpack she was currently holding.

While Gale was setting the traps and everyone was busy, Willow quietly walked over to where Gale had dropped the knife. She picked it up and began sawing it against the top of her waist-length ponytail. After she was finished, her hair curling shortly around the shells of her ears, she glanced back to see if Gale was finished yet. The hunter set the final trap, pushing it slightly under the mud to hide its location before standing back up. He looked over to her, eyeing her hair a bit confused. "I'm finished."

Willow nodded shortly, tossing the long ponytail up in a tree, where it hung almost like moss. She swung her backpack onto her shoulder and walked over, eyeing each step she took carefully, as to not hit one of his traps. "Alright. I can go by myself to get the water unless someone just has to join me."

"I'm coming. There might be Careers left out there. We're not certain who all died exactly at the Cornucopia."

"We only have one knife. I lost the spear, so. You being there wouldn't make much of a difference."

Gale paused, thinking it over to himself until Joule stepped forward from behind him. "I have some wire left. I'll go, you stay here with the others. Think of a strategy of where to go from here."

Gale looked back at her and nodded. "Alright. Be sure to hurry back."

Willow watched their exchange quietly before nodding and beginning to trek back to the river, Joule closely behind her. Gale watched the two as they vanished into the shadows of the trees before turning back towards the group. Minding where his traps laid, he sat with Madge, Amur, Sisal, and Sage. As soon as Gale sat down, Sage slowly crawled over and sat in his lap, attached to Gale since he rescued him from the Cornucopia.

Madge looked up from her backpack at Sisal and Amur. "Why did Willow just cut off all her hair? That was weird."

"It might get in her way that long?" Amur tried with a shrug. "Ask her when she returns."

"If..." Sisal muttered, her hands busy weaving more of the grass leaves together from her bag.

"I didn't know if it would be rude to ask." Madge frowned a little and looked at Sisal. "And she'll come back."

Sisal only shrugged, not even looking up from her work. Gale gave her a slightly annoyed look but hugged Sage closer to himself before looking to Amur and Madge. "We need a plan. We'll ask Willow about her fashion choices later."

Madge gave Gale a look, but sighed anyway. "Why can't we just stay here? Nothing's come to attack us yet."

"Because nothing will get accomplished," he looked back up at her. "And it'll only be a matter of time before the Gamemakers decide watching us sit around in a large group is boring to the audience. They'll send more things like snakes and mutts, or something like a fire or flood."

"What are we trying to accomplish, anyway? Like Willow said, there's only one knife and some wire."

Gale gave Madge a blank look. "We're trying to survive. All of us, together."

"I know _that._ I mean right this moment, what are we trying to accomplish? Because we could stay here while we have all the snares set up, unless we want them to go to waste, and then continue moving in the morning."

"We just need a general idea of what we're going to do from here on out. We can stay here for awhile to gather what we need, but eventually we're going to have to move and I can re-set up those snares at any time."

Madge nodded lightly, but she kept her eyes on Gale's as she spoke, intensely. "I vote we should do what Haymitch did. Just keep moving and stopping only when necessary."

Gale looked back at the girl, staying quiet for a long moment. "If we do that, we're heading where he headed too then."

"Exactly."

A small smile formed on his mouth as he nodded to Madge. Amur and Sisal, however, both looked cluelessly up to them. "Um, and where's that?" Sisal asked.

Madge looked away from Gale and at Sisal and Amur. "You'll see," she stated simply, realizing the cameras were listening to everything they said.

The uncertainly in Sisal merely heightened at this statement. She dropped her grass patch that she had been distracting herself with and crossed her arms tightly. "I'm not going anywhere unless I know where it is."

Madge furrowed her eyebrows. "Sisal, just trust me."

The older tribute was at the end of her line, however. "We'd be much safer here with the traps. And how do you know whatever you're heading for is even there? First, Joule's knowledge of this river and now this mystery plot! I just can't-"

Before she could finish, her voice was almost immediately interrupted by the anthem of Panem as the seal appeared in the sky. They had hardly noticed what time of the day it was, but the fact that night was there eased them a little. Joule and Willow would have a better advantage of not being seen in the darkness. Slowly, Gale glanced up towards the trees and, still carrying Sage, moved to an area on the branch so he could get a better view of the night sky. Madge turned away from Sisal as if she hadn't even been speaking and leaned away from the tree trunk, glancing up at the sky as well.

All their eyes shot up as one by one the faces appeared on the night sky. Sisal counted out loud seven tributes that had died, including her fellow male tribute of District 8. Ivy's face, the female Career from District 2, appeared as well as both District 5 tributes, the 20 year old boy from District 10, the senile old woman Chaff mentored - Dodder, Gale thought he heard the mentor call her once- and Rye, the mother from District 9. The faces remained vivid in the night sky for a few minutes longer before fading away forever.

Madge scooted back on her branch after the faces had disappeared, feeling pain in her chest after seeing Rye's face. She knew she should have offered her a place in the alliance, where the mother could be safe and possibly get home to her children. The blond girl no longer understood why she had listened to Katniss and Peeta when they told her no. Anger began to take place of the pain and she gritted her teeth to stop from yelling into the still air at the District 12 Mentors.


	38. Cannons

Chapter 39. Cannons

Over the next day, the alliance focused on gathering supplies for their upcoming journey. They went through the backpacks, splitting the rations equally among the seven of them. While Joule, Madge, and Sisal took turns watching camp, Willow assisted Gale with the hunting, catching several squirrels and a bird, while Sage picked several handfuls of berries with Amur watching him carefully.

As the last of Gale's traps went off and he collected the rope from the squirrel's body, the turned back towards Willow. "I think we have enough to get us going."

Willow looked up from one of the squirrels she was skinning with her knife and nodded, standing up from the rock she was sitting on. "If we get too many more, they'll go bad. We'll catch them as we go."

"Exactly. Let's find Amur and Sage then regroup with the others. There's only been one cannon fired since the bloodbath and I don't want them to start throwing natural disasters at us while we're this close to the river."

Willow nodded, tying the skinned squirrel next to another one and a dead bird to the belt on her waist. She then began walking to where Amur and Sage had gone that afternoon. Having let Sage pick out all the fruits, Amur carried a large bag made of grass filled with the berries. Sisal, the day prior, had turned her patch of weaved grass into it per Amur's request. It was surprisingly sturdy and held all their findings. Sage dumped another handful of berries into the bag that Amur held before seeing Gale and Willow walking over. The small boy smiled proudly, running to greet them. "Gale! Gale, come look at all the bewwies I got."

Gale smiled brightly down at the boy before picking him up. "You find a lot then, huh? That's really great, Sage," he smiled at the boy as he walked towards Amur.

Sage nodded enthusiastically, holding onto Gale around the neck, while Willow eyed them hesitantly. "Uh-huh. A bunch."

Gale looked down into the bag which Amur held open for him. The bag was nearly full, making Gale's smile widen. He knew bringing Sage along was a good idea. He ruffled up the child's hair a little. "Great job, Sage. I'm sure Sisal, Madge, and Joule are going to be very happy with you."

Sage's cheeks turned pink as he smiled happily, trying to be modest. "It's not a big deal. Thewe's a lot by the twees."

Gale just ruffled up the young boy's hair again before turning back to Willow. "Let's get back."

Willow tore her eyes away from Sage and nodded a little. She silently turned away and walked back to Madge, Joule, and Sisal waiting at the camp. Gale furrowed his eyebrows, but followed after her. He knew Willow was a survivor and tried to be the strongest. To her, he thought, Sage probably looked more like a liability at the moment. But that wasn't going to stop him from protecting the boy. Gale shifted Sage a little in his arms to get a better grip before heading towards the meeting area the seven of them agreed on.

Willow walked up behind Sisal, Madge, and Joule and held the skinned squirrel in front of their faces. "We brought treats."

Sisal nearly screamed at the sight, but Joule immediately forced her hand over the woman's mouth to shut her up. She looked up at Willow. "Nice work," she said, half-sarcastic. All they needed was for someone to find them because Sisal screamed.

Willow smirked, dropping the squirrel onto Sisal's lap, while Madge clutched her heart in alarm. "Not my fault she's a big baby."

Sisal pushed the skinned creature off her lap immediately before glaring up at Willow. "Anybody would have been startled by that! And it would have been your fault if-!"

Joule forced her hand over the woman's mouth again, glaring. "You need to learn how to be quiet."

Willow rolled her eyes. "I've already had this talk with her."

Sisal moved her face away from Joule to argue some more. In response, Willow crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes and raising an eyebrow. In the background, Gale let out a small sigh at the women's bickering before starting to pack away the skinned creatures in his backpack, trying to stay as far out of the situation as possible.

Madge whimpered quietly. "Can we all just be nice please?"

Sisal glared towards Madge briefly before sighing. As much as she hated her situation, she couldn't justify being mad at Madge. So she focused her glare back towards Willow. The District 4 female continued to stare, as if waiting for Sisal to make her argument so she could put the older woman in her place. Before Sisal could even consider what to say next, a male let out a loud scream that pierced and echoed through their clearing. Gale's eyes immediately shot up from his backpack in the direction of the scream. He quickly threw the pack on his shoulder and looked towards the group. "That's wasn't too far from here."

Willow turned her head toward the scream as well but looked at Gale, emotionless. "Whoever that is, he's not part of our alliance."

"It doesn't matter!" Gale turned back towards Willow. "We should still help."

"No, it we shouldn't," Willow hissed back. "We're not risking our lives for some random guy."

As the two argued, Joule slowly stood up and closed her eye, like she was trying to listen for something. It wasn't long before the unknown boy let out another loud, agonized groan. Joule's eye opened immediately and widened. She immediately grabbed her string of wire before turning and running towards the direction of the screams, mumbling "Cabler," once under her breath as she sprinted past Madge and Sisal.

Willow watched Joule run past her and groaned, unsheathing her knife and running after her. "Joule!"

Gale froze, a bit confused at Joule's sudden actions. He turned towards Sage, Sisal, and Madge. "Stay with Amur, don't-"

Sisal, however, was fed up with instructions. She got up almost instantly and pushed past Gale, running after the three girls in front of her. Growling a little, Gale followed after her. Madge paused and glanced at Amur and Sage before running after Gale. Sage followed quickly after her, not wanting to be without Gale, but Amur quickly caught up to the young boy. He picked Sage up, but did not stop running.

The entire gang continued onward until Joule nearly gagged at the sight of the area around her, instantly knowing the source of the cannon fire from yesterday. Body parts, both insides and flesh, hung from vines on the branches of trees nearby.

Behind Joule, Gale hesitated for only a second before immediately turning towards Amur and Sage. He grabbed the boy and pressed his face against his chest to block him from seeing. "Don't look, Sage."

Sage immediately buried his face in Gale's chest, trusting him, but still being able to smell the rotting flesh. Madge covered her nose and mouth and turned away from the hanging body parts. She let out a small gasp when she saw the 16 year old District 3 boy leaning weakly against a tree, his usual crazy, spiky hair flat against his forehead and ears and his shirt covered in blood, eyes clenched shut in pain as Leaf stood over him.

Overtop the boy his identical age, Leaf's arms and clothes were coated in blood. In his hand, he held a sickle with a toothed ridge on its inside, which was pressed against the back of Cabler's neck. The District 7 boy had his hand pressed against Cabler's forehead while he slowly shredded the skin on the back and sides of his neck with the sickle. To further prevent him from moving, Leaf had his feet planted on the backs of Cabler's palms.

Joule shook herself out of her shocked state and immediately dashed for Leaf, wire out. Once close, she extended her arms to try and wrap the wire around his neck, like she did the boy at the horn. However, before her arms could even reach, Leaf yanked the sickle from Cabler's neck and turned around, swinging it towards Joule.

The white haired female managed to move enough for the blow to not be fatal. However, she faltered as the sight of blood dripping from Leaf's mouth and the sickle's tip stabbed deeply into her forearm. Willow turned sharply to look at Leaf, Cabler, and Joule as she ran over. As soon as the sickle stabbed Joule, Willow darted over and quickly stopped in between her and Leaf, swinging her knife toward his neck, but missed as Leaf ducked.

The boy ripped the sickle painfully from Joule's arm, causing the girl to fall to her knees. He smiled brightly, widening his deceptively innocent looking eyes as he licked the tip of his sickle. "Looks like I'm not going to have to worry about hunger in these Games after all..."

Willow stood protectively in front of Joule, keeping a straight face, even in front of Leaf's psychotic licking. Her eyes flashed at the older Tribute. "No, but you'll have to worry about something a bit more dangerous."

He smiled up at her before starting to back up a little. "Then come show me, ma'am."

Willow bared her teeth and dove toward Leaf quickly, swinging her knife at him again. He just gave her a wide toothy grin as her foot pulled a rope he had set up by her feet. Almost immediately, a thin tree came crashing down towards Willow and Joule as Leaf turned to run from them. Willow dropped the knife as soon as her foot hit the rope. She spun around and dove for Joule, grabbing her hips and pulling her out of the tree's path of destruction. The tree crashed to the ground loudly. But nothing was louder than the weaver of the group as she dashed forward.

"LEAF!" Sisal screamed after him. Prying the knife from the ground where Willow dropped it, she dashed in the direction the 16 year old had gone, finally feeling she was within grasp of her revenge. Willow glanced up sharply when Sisal screamed, but Madge was the one who took off after her quickly.

"Madge, don't!" Gale yelled toward her as he tried to reach forward to grab her wrist.

Madge quickly shook him off, hopping over the tree, and following Sisal into the woods. "Sisal!"

"Dammit! Sage, go with Amur!" Gale said as he turned Sage quickly towards the older man before starting to run after Madge. Sage switched to hold onto Amur, watching Gale run off with wide eyes.

Gale wasted no time running after Madge, the fear he felt when Katniss was in the previous Games starting to rise in his chest again as he feared for the blond girl ahead of him. Luckily, Gale was more physically fit then Madge was and easily caught up to her. Giving up on trying to convince her, the hunter flat out tackled her to the muddy ground they treaded through.

Madge fell sideways into the mud when Gale tackled her, but she turned onto her back underneath him. She glared up at the hunter on top of her, blue eyes flashing. "Gale! Let me go!"

"Madge, there could be more traps! You'll get yourself killed if you follow her so blindly!"

"I promised I'd protect her!" Madge sobbed, thrashing underneath him, frustrated tears beginning to surface.

Gale frowned and turned his head away. Slowly, he got up off of her. "If you're going after her, then I am too. It would be hypocritical of me to stop you, but I made you promise to your family that you'd make it home."

Madge sat up in the mud, looking at him and slowly standing up. "Yeah, you told me to, but I didn't promise them anything."

Gale blinked and turned back to her just as the loud, thunderous boom of the death cannon set itself off. The hunter's eyes widened as he immediately pulled Madge closer to him, looking around wildly, just waiting for Leaf to jump at the two. His eyes only grew bigger, though with less fear and more shock, when the second cannon echoed through the trees.

Madge's eyes immediately filled up with tears and she tore away from Gale and toward the direction where Sisal and Leaf had disappeared. Gale didn't even attempt to stop her, but he did follow closely. They had made too much noise to be careless now.

About fifteen meters away from their spot laid the bodies of Sisal and Leaf, both covered in blood and laying side by side. Gale stared down at the gruesome scene, as if trying to play out what happened in his mind. From the wounds on Sisal's stomach to her chest, he garnered that Leaf had dragged his sickle up once she had gotten too close. The weaver's fingers were still circled around Willow's dagger, even though it had driven itself into the boy's throat, as if she was making certain he did not rise even after death.

Madge let out a heart-wrenching sob when she saw the bodies and she ran over to Leaf and Sisal. She fell to her knees in the mud next to Sisal, gathering her body against her own. "I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry..."


	39. Sorrows

Chapter 39. Sorrows

Gale said nothing to Madge and, really, what could he say? Guilt, depression, fear - it was all starting to pile up inside of him the more he watched Madge holding the dead Sisal in her arms. There were no traps set off, just a fight between the two happened. He or Madge might have been able to save her.

Trying to keep his mind from it, Gale looked around the area only to see the toothed sickle laying feet from the two. He snatched it up, remembering how little the group was armed for their numbers before removing Willow's dagger from Leaf's neck as well. He tried to clean them off in the damp grass as best he could before turning back towards Madge.

"Madge..."

Madge didn't look up at Gale. She pressed her face against Sisal's bloody neck, letting out another soft sob. She had promised Sisal she would take care of her, protect her, and get her out alive. Now the older woman was laying lifeless in her arms after what had to have been a painful confrontation. The hunter bit his bottom lip slightly before putting a hand on Madge's shoulder. "Madge... we have to go now."

Madge tensed up when he touched her and she turned her head slightly to look at him, her face wet with blood and tears, eyes red. "D-don't touch me, Gale! This... this was your fault. I could have..."

He said nothing. There was nothing he could think to say. Gale let his hand slide off her shoulder before dropping his head slightly, avoiding her eyes at all costs. "You're right..."

Madge paused, glancing back at Gale. Her face slowly transformed from angry and extremely upset to guilty. She slowly let go of Sisal, standing up shakily. "... I'm sorry, I didn't mean it..."

"We need to go back," his voice was flat and almost emotionless as he turned. "The others are waiting and we've made too much noise here."

Madge's eyes filled with new tears but she just nodded even though he wasn't looking. She reached over and grabbed Gale's hand, hoping to comfort him and herself. He barely reacted to her touch but began to walk slowly. "If I hadn't stopped you, it may have ended up differently. So just blame me."

Madge walked next to him quietly, but sniffled once. "What... what would I have done, realistically?"

"We'll never know."

"We would have done nothing, Gale. We have no weapons, while Leaf had... whatever that is," Madge mumbled, glancing at the sickle in Gale's hand.

"It's probably what he used to saw that tree down." Gale blinked and thought for a moment. At first he slowed his walk before suddenly going into a full blown sprint. "Shit, that boy...!"

Madge widened her eyes, running after him. The two ran as fast as they could until finally getting back to the area where they had found the District 3 boy. Since their departure, Joule had managed to kneel at his side, regardless of the sharp pains in her arm and the blood that continued to fall.

"Cabler..." She looked the boy up and down, trying to gauge the damage done to his neck without moving him. Cabler had slid down the tree and was laying at the base. The back and sides of his neck were shredded like ribbons and blood had completely soaked through the front of his shirt. He smiled at Joule slightly, blood staining his teeth, his naturally pale skin the color of paper under his dark hair.

He sucked in a rattling breath. "J-Joule... you'll... you'll win this for 3... right?"

Tears almost threatened to fall, but she held them back and grabbed onto Cabler's hand. She forced a smile down at him. "I'm sorry, Cabler... I can't make that promise. But I promise the people who did this to us... they will pay."

Cabler smiled at her softly, his eyes wet. He squeezed her hand gently, almost undetectably, and leaned his head against the tree. He slowly let out a sighing breath and, a few seconds later, his cannon fired. Joule hardly reacted to the cannon as she reached down with her free hand, running it through the boy's hair a few times until it was back to its usual, messy style. She gave him a faint smile and a light kiss on his forehead before standing up.

Slowly, her gaze went towards Gale and Madge. "Is he dead?"

Madge nodded, glancing down at the mud with red eyes. "They both are."

"Then we have no reason to linger here. We're continuing north."

Willow tore her eyes from Cabler and just nodded, taking her knife back from Gale. She eyed the sickle and then looked up at the hunter, raising her eyebrows. "Do you know how to use that?"

"I don't even know what it is," Gale admitted, looking down at it.

Sage spoke up quietly from Amur's arms. "It's a sickle. We have them in 11. Used for hawvestin' things."

"Harvesting?" Gale blinked as he looked back at the 5 year old. He paused before putting the sickle on his belt where he had a few animals still hanging from before walking to Sage. He forced a smile and put a hand on the boy's head. "Sorry for running off like that. Amur take care of you okay?"

Sage nodded, staring up at Gale with wide eyes that slowly began to moisten. His bottom lip began to quiver. He was so scared between the cannons, the dead Cabler off to the side, and the various entrails hanging from the trees.

Willow rolled her eyes. "Can we go before the kid starts bawling?"

"He's a kid, what would you expect?" Gale sighed as Amur handed Sage off to him again. Gale took the role of big brother once more, hiding the child's face in his shoulder so he didn't have to see anymore. "But we should get going before the Careers or anybody else decide to pick off the survivors."

Sage latched onto Gale's neck again while Willow picked up Cabler's abandoned backpack. She put it over her shoulder with her own pack and began walking away from the site. Joule, however, was already a distance ahead of the group. A new wave of determination took over all her senses as she swore to herself she would do whatever it took to make her promise to Cabler come true.

* * *

><p>After several hours of walking, the group of now only six stopped in a thick bunch of trees to set up camp for the night. Willow quietly sat down on a rock, setting the four sleeping bags on the ground. She glanced back at the broken group, but didn't say anything.<p>

Madge just sat away from the alliance, staring into the trees. She crossed her arms against the colder breeze, frowning, her mind lingering on Sisal. While Sisal had sometimes not been the most wise or helpful ally, she had felt close to her. She had thought they were friends and she had sworn to protect her and, suddenly, she was gone, taken away by these vicious Games and by the most vicious player of them all.

From the center of the site, Gale watched Madge. He had been trying to force a smile for everybody's sake, especially Sage's, but it was a lie. Slowly, he stood up from his spot and walked over to the blond. He sat cautiously down beside her, but still kept a bit of distance between the two.

"Hey..."

Madge continued staring into the trees, not turning to look at him. "Hey."

He looked up slightly towards her before following her gaze. Gale didn't say another thing for awhile, trying to find whatever comforting words he could think of. However, he knew he was never good with words. Just actions. And even with that, he couldn't think of anything to really do that would comfort Madge. He still felt the need to try.

"She... really did it. I mean... everybody told her she couldn't, but she accomplished what she wanted here..."

Madge pressed her lips together and just nodded. "I know. Maybe that's what gave her that extra strength to do it, all of us doubting her... I should have believed in her more..."

"She still would have gone after him, regardless."

"I know," Madge said softly, lowering her head. "I just feel like she was miserable with us. I could have been so much nicer."

"Don't say that, Madge. You were the nicest person of anybody in the entire games. I didn't see anybody else staying by her side as much as you did, including her mentors. You did nothing wrong."

Madge finally turned her head slightly to look at Gale. She smiled sadly. "I guess. I guess... when someone dies... you just see everything you did wrong. I'm sorry."

He forced another smile but shook his head. "You don't have to apologize... I just don't want you to blame yourself."

"It's not your fault either, Gale."

His smile faded slightly as he looked away from her again. "I guess we'll both have to work on that, huh?"

Madge scooted closer to Gale and set her hand gently over his. Even when she was in pain, she was still thinking of everyone else's feelings. "I know there's nothing I can say. There's nothing you can say to me either. But I don't blame you."

He turned back towards the blond girl, staring at her intently before letting out a small sigh. "Even now, it's always about everybody else, isn't it?" he laughed slightly.

She blinked at him, leaning back slightly, as if unsure about what he was talking about. "What?"

"You're in pain, you don't need to hide that from me. You need to worry about yourself sometimes too, Madge. I'm strong enough on my own, so you don't need to be strong for me."

Madge's face flushed pink under the layers of dirt, blood, and mud, and she glanced down, shaking her head. "I know you are. I was just being honest. I don't blame you. You didn't promise her anything..."

Gale turned his hand over under hers before squeezing it slightly, trying to be as comforting as possible. "What would you have done in her position? And how would you feel now?"

Madge quietly intertwined her fingers with Gale's as she shook her head slightly. "I know. I know I would have done the same thing. And I know she was satisfied that she got her revenge. It's all she wanted. It's just... hard, thinking of it in that context."

Gale nodded, understanding. "Madge, if there's anything you need or just want to talk... I'm not great with words, but I try to listen. And we all need to work together so..."

Madge gave him a soft smile and nodded, turning back to look at the trees and resting her head gently on his shoulder. "Thank you, Gale. You can come to me with anything as well. But I'm sure you already knew that."

He just smiled at her before looking off in the opposite direction, still keeping his fingers intertwined with hers.


	40. Gathering

Chapter 40. Gathering

Two days had passed since the anthem blared and the faces of Leaf and Sisal lit up the night sky. They did not face any mutts or other tributes, but the group had confidence that they could handle a few problems between Willow's dagger, Gale's sickle, and Amur's bag he had gotten from Sisal, which he had filled with rocks he had collected over the days.

The group was getting closer and closer to the edge of the Arena, but it seemed with every step, they traveled slower. It wasn't until mid-day that Joule had finally collapsed to her knees, gripping her wrapped up arm. Willow turned slightly to look at her companion, but sweat was beading her paled forehead even in the cool air. She frowned slightly, but Madge quickly ran over to Joule, brushing some of her white hair off her forehead, keeping her voice low. "Joule, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Joule murmured, biting the inside of her mouth so hard she could taste blood.

Madge frowned, but didn't move from her side. "Is it your arm? Where Leaf cut you? Let me see."

The white haired girl saw no reason in trying to hide it from Madge. It would only slow them down and she didn't have the energy to argue. Slowly, she unwrapped the cut to show Madge. The wound was a lot filthier than it should have been for such a simple slash. Dirt and pus lingered inside and it looked like the wound had been reopened recently.

Willow winced and looked away while Madge gasped, setting her hand gently on the older girl's arm, inspecting her wound. "Oh, Joule, this is so infected. I've never seen anything like this." She glanced back at the males in the group, furrowing her eyebrows.

Amur walked over, looking down closely. "It looks almost like Mr. Mellark's leg did last Games. If that's the case-"

"Then cut it off," Joule hissed, not liking being the center of so much attention. "I already lost an eye, what's an arm too? I'm left handed anyways."

Madge pressed her lips together and shook her head quickly while Willow slowly walked over, looking down at Joule, frowning, sweat glistening on her upper lip. "We can't cut it off. Not only are none of us capable of it, you would be useless with only one arm."

"Chaff managed in his Games," the eye patched girl muttered before looking up at Willow. She hesitated briefly, noting the color of Willow's flesh and dampness of her skin. She sighed. "We're both screwed, aren't we, Willow?"

"You mean you're screwed," Willow stated bluntly. Joule just gave her a snicker before reaching up, running her hand down the younger tribute's cheek. Willow stared at Joule, either unaware of her clamminess or forgetting about it. Her face quickly went from unnaturally white, especially for her bronze skin, to bright red. "What are you doing?"

When Joule pulled her hand away, she held it out between the two of them to show the sweat practically dripping from her palm. "This isn't normal for the climate of the Arena, Willow. We're both screwed."

Willow stared at her for a long moment before sitting down next to her. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and stared at the sweat for a moment. "No one else is hot in here?"

"Not to your extent," Gale finally spoke up as he, carrying Sage, walked over for a closer look. "We need to figure something out. We're starting to run out of water too..."

"I can tell you exactly how this is going to play out," Joule sighed as she pulled her legs from under her so she was sitting instead of kneeling. "There's not a lot of us left but not a lot of action now since Leaf. They're going to announce the Feast and one of you are going to demand we go. Gale will run off, leaving Amur to watch everybody back at the camp, and, odds are, you're going to try and go too," she said, eyeing Willow.

Willow glanced at Joule and smiled wanly, looking at Gale. "I guess we're that predictable."

"Yeah, but in this case, you can't go."

"I can go. I've made it this far, I think I can handle a few Careers at the Feast."

"No, you can't. You're too injured, Willow."

"I've been injured since the Cornucopia and I've saved all your asses several times," Willow snapped, standing up quickly. After she had just gotten to her feet, however, she grasped onto a nearby tree weakly, unable to catch her footing, before falling into the mud, unconscious.

"Willow!" Joule jumped towards the girl, immediately pulling her up slightly so she wasn't face down in the mud. She pulled the younger girl's head on her lap as, just as she predicted, the trumpets began to blare throughout the Arena and Caesar Flickerman's voice announced the arrival of the Feast.

Willow's head lulled on Joule's lap and Madge glanced up at the sky before turning toward Gale after Caesar was finished speaking, furrowing her eyebrows. "We're going, aren't we?"

"I am," the hunter said as he placed Sage down on the ground. "Madge, I need you and Amur to watch the girls and Sage. Take Willow's knife."

"Gale, you can't go alone," Madge said quietly, looking at him searchingly and taking Sage's shoulder gently in her hand.

"We don't have much choice. We need to get the medicine for them and if there's too many of us there, we'll risk losing more people."

Madge glanced down at Joule and Willow for a moment before looking back at Gale. "Then I'll just go with you. Two isn't that many people."

"Madge, no..." he started, putting his backpack down by Joule and pulling out his sickle.

"I can watch your back, Gale. Amur is more than capable enough to watch Joule, Willow, and Sage."

The hunter stood up and shook his head back towards her. "No, Madge. We can't lose you too! We need someone who can get in and out of there fast and not stop, and since Willow's out, I'm the only person who can do that."

Madge pressed her lips together again and just looked away from him and at the surrounding trees, clearly upset at Gale's lack in faith in her abilities. Gale could tell, too, but it didn't matter. Whether or not she actually listened and told her family she'd be returning home, he had made a promise to himself that he would make that a reality. If he had to hurt her feelings a few times here and there, so be it. He turned his head in the opposite direction, towards the horn. "I should be back sometime in the night or by morning if I go now. Madge, I need you to camouflage everybody but leave a hint for me to return to. I'm counting on you for this."

Madge simply nodded, but still refused to look at him. She let go of Sage's shoulder and walked over to Joule and Willow, kneeling next to them. She knew Gale would have a better shot without her slowing him down, but she still had a bad feeling about the Feast. Without even looking back, Gale began a full sprint towards the horn. Madge gritted her teeth and began camouflaging Joule and Willow with massive amounts of mud and leaves from the trees, Amur at her side to assist. Neither even noticed as Sage quietly slipped away from them, following Gale.

* * *

><p>By himself, or so he thought, Gale managed to keep a steady run his entire way back. His eyes had remained glued to the ground and area in front of him to watch out for traps laid by other Tributes, but found none. At first, he was happy at the ease but then dread filled him as he realized quickly why there were no traps. The majority of the Tributes must be heading for the Feast.<p>

The hunter lost track of time as he ran but as the area became more familiar, he knew he was getting close. His run slowed down to a cautious walk, now minding his noise level and gauging his surroundings intensely. Carefully, he peered out from behind every tree and began to let his his hunter instincts take over. To try and see before being seen.

As Gale peeked around the trees close to the Cornucopia, Savage passed him noisily from several yards away, clearly not worrying about being heard. While his left arm hung limply from where Willow had destroyed his shoulder, the rest of him seemed unharmed.

Gale grit his teeth and watched the Career from the shadows. From beside Savage, an excited looking Pearl had followed, her hair tied up in a ponytail using vines. The fact that her fashion still played an important role to her in this situation made Gale almost want to throw up with disgust. However, it was the intimidating male figure that loomed behind them that worried him the most. A taller man who couldn't have been much older then Amur, and was probably Savage's strategy to counter the fisherman, followed the two. He had that sort of Peacekeeper appearance to him - stern and serious - but seemed to pack a few more pounds than average. If the Games were merely a competition of starvation, the older District 2 male would certainly win.

The hunter took very few and very soft steps onward until the Cornucopia was in sight from behind his cover in the trees. Backpacks littered the area with numbers from every District with the exception of 5 and 8 - the Districts no more tributes remained from. Gale focused in on the bags labelled three, four, eleven, and twelve, uncertain which would have the medicines. If he had been a Gamemaker, heaven forbid, three and four would have been the logical step but they probably knew Gale was coming for them, so it may be in twelve. Or they could have put them in eleven just to make him risk his life to not accomplish his reason for coming. He felt sick once more, realizing he was going to have to dive for all four bags.

Savage stood at the edge of the trees with his two companions, glancing around the empty Cornucopia. When he decided he saw no one, he ran into the abandoned area, grabbing the large District 1 bag in victory before turning his eyes on the one labeled with a large 12.

Actions came before thoughts as Gale took off into the clearing. He was lucky that two other Tributes came from opposite sides of the area, all feeling threatened their bag was going to be claimed. Pearl ran first toward the female Tribute from District 6 who ran towards Savage. While the District 1 Career wasn't as fast, she had a way of moving about that almost made her unnoticeable to the younger girl's peripheral until the red head was directly in front of her.

The District 2 Career, however, turned his attention towards Gale. From his belt he pulled out a masonry hammer with its pointed end out as he ran for the hunter. Gale tried to tame the fear inside, telling himself the man's size would prevent him from catching up to him as he tried to formulate how to get past Savage. He gripped onto the sickle so hard his knuckles began to turn white.

The male Tribute from 9 ran out from the other side of the Cornucopia and Savage seemed to be debating something before jumping off the horn and charging toward the older male Tribute, holding a mace tightly in his working hand. He figured after he and his alliance had killed everyone else, they could collect the rest of the backpacks. Gale couldn't be any happier with Savage's decision. He swooped in with one arm, grasping onto the bags with the 12 and 11 stitched into them as the spiked end of the hammer from the older Career found its way into his outer thigh. The pain was so great Gale saw stars, but immediately the hunter shook them away and turned towards the older man. With the sickle, he hooked the man's wrist and tore it away from the hammer's handle before the man could dislodge it from Gale's flesh.

As the man screamed, trying to stop the blood from escaping his now shredded wrist, Gale turned towards the District 3 and 4 packs. There wasn't enough time to remove the hammer as he dove for the bags which laid dangerously close to Savage. The Career swung the mace at the Tribute from District 9, hitting him square in the head. The man fell to the ground immediately as his cannon fired. The District 1 Tribute turned to look down at Gale, aiming a kick at the hammer so it was driven deeper into the hunter's leg.

Gale's hand managed to grasp the District 3's backpack before collapsing to the ground from the pain. He was certain the hammer spike couldn't go in any further now and hoped there'd be enough medicine available for himself if he managed to get out of this. Savage dropped his mace and smiled sadistically, crawling on top of Gale and pulling out a small silver dagger. "Oh, 12. I've been waiting for this."

"Well, sorry to disappoint, 1," Gale smirked up at Savage through the pain before bringing the handle of the sickle up and aiming to bash him in the temple with it. Savage looked at Gale for a moment before the handle hit him in the temple. Realization struck as he hadn't noticed Gale had a weapon other then the one in his thigh and perhaps he had been too cocky a moment too late. He fell sideways off of the hunter, unconscious.

Gale wasted no time as he threw the Career off him and snatched up the District 2 and 4 packs. His confidence was beyond any he ever felt before as he turned to run from the horn. He had taken down two Careers and accomplished securing everything his group needed. He was starting to think that he could protect everybody again, that they could all find a way out of this.

Suddenly, a child's scream echoed from the woods surrounding the Cornucopia, but it was cut off abruptly with a loud, echoing thump. Gale's confidence immediately vanished at the sound. He ran as quickly as his legs would allow, pushing any exhaustion and fatigue away as he dashed towards the source of the noise.

Sage had fallen directly where Gale had run to the Cornucopia from. It seemed as though he had been picked up and dropped from a high height, his small legs twisted at strange angles as he laid on the mud floor. The most disturbing part of the scene, however, was the spear driven right through his tiny body.

"Sage, no!" Gale cried as he immediately fell to his knees beside the boy. He carefully picked up the child's head, his hands shaking uncontrollably as tears began to well up in his eyes. "Sage, come on, you can't..."

Sage blinked open his dark eyes and looked up at Gale. He let out a shaky, wet sounding breath, tears falling from his eyes and down into his hair. The small boy reached his hand gently to touch Gale's before closing his eyes again.

"D-don't, Sage. You're going to be okay, alright? Don't... leave..." He couldn't hold back any longer as tears began to stain the usually strong hunter's cheeks. He gripped Sage's hand tightly in his own as he stared down at the boy. Sage, feeling safer now that Gale was there and holding him, let out his last, shallow breath, before going limp in the older boy's arms.

His cannon sounded off immediately.


	41. Kill

A/N: These past chapters have been a little sad, so I wanna share a conversation Lily and I had with you to maybe cheer you up!

Me: Katniss had got to be the most bipolar person at the Capitol right now

Lily: She's going to kill herself XD

Me: GALE YOU IDIOT, DON'T RUN OU- YES, SLICE THAT PEACEKEEPER WANNAB- FUCK, DON'T RUN AT SAVAGE! OMG DON'T DIE- HA, WAY TO GO BABY

Lily: omg that's exactly how she is

Also, btw. Thank you, Ellenka [Well Write] for your FANTASTIC compliment last chapter! Lily and I have actually been talking because of the success of this fanfic about writing an original piece of fiction once we've finished this story so that really means a lot to us both.

* * *

><p>Chapter 41. Kill<p>

Gale pressed his face against Sage's shoulder, crying silently at first but his sobs grew harder the longer he stayed there. He knew he had to leave, to get himself away from the boy, but he just couldn't. He had to stay there for Sage, as if he might magically open his eyes.

The hunter tried to calm himself down as best he could as he lifted his head from the child. Slowly, his eyes turned towards the spear and every ounce of sorrow turned to anger and hatred. Suddenly, from directly above them, the District 7 woman, Daisy, jumped and landed next to Gale, an ax in her pale hands. The 24 year old brushed her blond pigtails off her shoulders and quickly swung her ax at Gale's neck, seeing his sadness and mistaking it for weakness.

In reality, she couldn't have picked a worse time to attack him.

Dropping his head back down close to Sage again to dodge the blow, Gale rolled onto his back and kicked both his legs into her stomach. He waited for the woman to fall down before rising and pulling the spear from Sage's motionless corpse. The hunter rose to a stand, pointing the tip of the weapon towards the woman.

"Was this your weapon?" he demanded, his voice darkened and enraged.

Daisy leaned her head away from the spear, eyeing him with wide eyes at first but they quickly narrowed. "He got in the way."

There was no reasoning with himself anymore. Gale had snapped. Bringing the spear back, he took it with both his hands and swung sideways at her face, like a bat. He wasn't aiming to kill, not yet.

The blond's head snapped to the side when he hit her with the side of the spear. She hissed, a long cut forming below her eye. She glared at him, not going to take this laying down, and swung her right foot into his injured thigh. He let out an agonized yell as more blood escaped from his leg. However, he refused to fall, using the spear as a support to keep himself standing. With his other hand, he pulled out the sickle and dove at her with it.

Daisy rolled quickly out of his way. She jumped to her feet and swung the ax at his neck again. Gale rolled in the opposite direction but the ax slashed across his shoulder. As the blood spilled, he pulled the spear up with his opposite hand and thrust it, aiming for Daisy's heart. The girl went to dodge Gale's attack, but it was too late. While the spear missed her heart, it went straight through her body, piercing a lung. She gasped, falling to her knees and dropping her ax next to Sage's lifeless body.

Gale finally let his body relax slightly as his head fell back against the muddy ground. His mind and heart raced as the reality of everything came crashing down on him. The stab he gave the woman would kill her. It was Gale's first kill and it wouldn't be a quick one.

Daisy slowly fell onto her side next to Sage, forcing her body to breathe. Her breaths slowly became wheezier and shallower as her one remaining lung fought to regulate her breathing. She stared at Gale, her killer, until the light finally disappeared from her eyes and her cannon sounded. The hunter rolled on his side and finally threw up from the stress on his mind and toll on his body before he forced himself to his feet.

He let out a long sigh. Regardless of the revenge he accomplished for Sage, his sorrow did not disappear. If anything, it ten folded. He had turned into just another piece to the government's games and could not forgive himself for it.

He retrieved the spear from Daisy's chest before collecting the ax as well. At this point, he knew Savage, Pearl, and the District 2 Career would have a vendetta against him and needed to make sure their remaining team was prepared. He turned in the opposite direction of the two and began his journey back, leaving the hammer in his leg and letting the blood fall down his arm. He knew it would take longer than he promised to Madge for him to return.

* * *

><p>The entire journey back to the group took remarkably longer then he had hoped as a full 24 hours passed. At one point, the pain became too unbearable from the hammer and he needed to rest and remove it. Even though the pain was now gone and the wounds were healing, Gale still felt guilty for using some of the medicine that had been placed in the District 11 bag on himself. He used as little medicine and bandages as possible on himself, not wanting to take what was needed for Joule and Willow.<p>

When he finally made his way back to where the meeting space was originally, he was comforted slightly in the fact that he saw nobody. Madge had managed to hide them well. He glanced warily around the area, trying to find something to signal where exactly they were. There, near a tree, was a small, orange, empty backpack with a large "G" painted on it in mud. However, the sign wasn't needed as Madge jumped down from the tree where she and Amur had hid. Joule and Willow, however, weren't fit to climb, so they had been cleverly hidden in a clump of trees, covered by leaves. Madge ran straight over to Gale. "What took you so long?"

He knew this was coming, but he had no words. His eyes cast down on the four packs in his arms before handing the District 11 one to Madge in silence. Madge took it, furrowing her eyebrows. She, of course, had seen Sage's face in the sky the night before. However, she didn't find it polite to bring up the child. When Gale's face hadn't appeared, she feared he was slowly dying somewhere or, arguably worse, taken captive by the Careers. In way of sympathy, she leaned up on her toes and kissed Gale gently on the cheek before turning and hurrying off, embarrassed, to help Joule and Willow.

If the hunter was in his right mind, her actions would have his mind filled with questions and shock, but his expression remained blank. Taking a seat in the damp grass, he began to arrange the remaining resources they had into one backpack for each of them to keep himself distracted. From their original bags, all that remained was the sleeping bags and one can of beans but there was still plenty of berries stuffed into Amur's backpack. Gale's eyes began to sting a little when he saw them but he shook his head slightly and began to distribute the fruits evenly in the packs, using the plastic left from the empty bread bags to wrap them in.

Madge silently rubbed the medicine on Joule's infected wound and, unsure of what exactly was wrong with Willow since she was weakly laying against Joule with her eyes half open, injected the younger District 4 Tribute with whatever medicine was in a needle at the bottom of the bag. In a matter of minutes, Joule could already begin to feel the effect of the medicine. Her wound hurt less, but she knew it would take the rest of the day before she would be able to move properly. She glanced towards Gale then back at Madge. "Tell him thank you for us."

Madge pressed her lips together and nodded, watching as Willow began to become more alert as well. She slowly stood up and walked back over to Gale. She sat down next to him, crossing her legs in front of her, awkwardly tucking some hair behind her ear. "Joule and Willow say thank you, Gale."

He nodded towards her slightly before putting out the weapons he had collected. "We have an ax, a spear, the sickle, Willow's knife, whatever's left of Joule's wire, her discus, and that bag Amur put together. There's more than enough here for each of us to have one weapon to protect ourselves with..."

Madge didn't look at the weapons; she kept her eyes on Gale. "Are you okay?"

"What do you think you'd have the best control over? The sickle's too awkward for me..."

"Gale."

His eyes never left the weapons as he picked up the spear slowly. "I killed her. The District 7 girl."

Madge chewed on her bottom lip, but didn't look away from the side of his face. "Daisy?"

"I stabbed her in the chest... with her own spear."

Madge paused for a moment before setting her hand over his on the spear. "What did she do? I know you wouldn't have killed her for no reason..."

"It still doesn't justify it." Gale threw the spear down before standing up.

Madge furrowed her eyebrows, looking up at him. "Gale, you did what you had to..."

"You didn't see what happened out there, Madge! I became a monster, just like the Careers and just like how _they_ want me to be. I didn't just kill her, I _toyed_ with her and made her suffer!"

Madge got up to her feet as well and just looked at him, sympathy written all over her face. She took his hand, comfortingly. "It doesn't matter what happened, Gale. You're not like Leaf or Savage or Pearl. Because you're this upset over it _means _you're not the same. It means you still have your humanity and it means you're different."

"It doesn't matter what it means," he muttered as his eyes shut, but his hand squeezed Madge's. "She's still dead. They're all dead and never coming back..."

Madge paused before gently touching Gale's dirty hair with her free hand. "I know. I know, but don't blame yourself. Blame the Games and don't let it tear away what's so good about you, Gale."

Gale turned his head back to look at her, sadness conquering all other emotions in his eyes. He turned his body fully around to face her before pulling the blond into a light embrace. "Thank you, Madge..."

Madge held Gale around the waist, pressing her face against his shoulder and nodding. "Be strong, Gale. We'll be done with this soon."

Gale just hugged to Madge for a few longer, silent moments. It comforted him greatly, having somebody there who still believed in him so much when he didn't. The only thing that pulled the two apart was the sudden echo of the cannon as another Tribute fell. Gale jumped at the sound, not expecting it. Madge dropped her arms from Gale, looking anxious. "That sounded close. We couldn't hear any cannons from Cornucopia."

Gale nodded, but his mind seemed distracted. He began to count in his mind before realization struck. He turned back to Madge. "That was most likely the last loner in the games..."

Madge looked at him for a moment before comprehension showed on her face and she nodded. "Now it's just us against the Careers?"

He nodded slowly before turning towards the direction of the cannon. "And they're on their way straight to us."


	42. Breakout

Chapter 42. Breakout

"Go get the others. I'm going to gather everything. We need to move now," Gale directed her before picking up the weapons and stuffing one into each bag, with the exception of the long spear. Madge nodded and ran over to Joule and Willow, looking down at them, anxiously.

"How are you two?"

"Well enough to know we're in trouble," Joule admitted as she pushed herself up to a stand, using the tree for support. She looked down at Willow before extending her hand out. "I know it sucks, but we need to move now."

Willow glanced up at Joule before nodding. She grasped the older girl's hand tightly and pulled herself up, albeit a little shakily. Once she was up, Joule found her footing but still looked concerned for Willow. "Willow, let Amur carry you. You're still weakened from the infection."

"I can walk. I'm fine. I don't need to be carried like an invalid."

"I'm not saying your an invalid, I'm just concerned is all," she huffed back before looking to Amur, who was putting one of the backpacks on that Gale handed him. "Carry her, even if she kicks and screams at you."

Willow narrowed her eyes. "Don't give him orders."

Madge groaned. "Can you two please not? We're in a hurry and, Willow, no matter what you say, you won't be able to run."

Regardless of her attempts to stick up for him, Amur still walked over to Willow. He grabbed her by her hips before slinging her over one of his shoulders. Amur, however, tried to be more comforting of the fact she couldn't run. "This will work best. You'll be the eyes behind our heads."

Willow punched him several times in the back, hard and angry. "Don't try to placate me! I'm not a child."

Her strikes didn't seem to phase him much though as he heeded Joule's instructions. The white haired Joule just smiled slightly before taking one of the backpacks from Gale. Once everybody had a backpack, Joule took lead of the group. She took in her surroundings again before starting to sprint off to the North.

"It shouldn't take us much longer to reach the edge. Come on!"

Gale nodded and followed closely behind her, but a nagging feeling probed the back of his head. When it came down to it, Joule seemed to know quite a lot about the Arena for no real good reason or with no good explanation. Up until now, he never questioned it but it was oddly suspicious. Madge ran after Gale as fast as she could while Willow pouted on Amur's shoulder.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, back at the Capitol, the doors opened to the prison-type room where the monitors were mounted. One by one, a variety of members from the crews of the remaining Tributes walked in, carrying plates of food for them. Among them, Cinna, Portia, and Haymitch pushed in trays of meals for the Mentors.<p>

Katniss tore her eyes away from the screen and turned slightly. For the past few days, she had hardly slept. She had stared at Gale, through his triumphs and his failures and, mainly, through his sadness. Even though she felt she was being slightly paranoid about his and Madge's closeness, she couldn't shake the anger she felt whenever she saw the girl with him now. However, she focused her eyes on Cinna, Portia, and Haymitch, slightly uneasy.

As Cinna walked away from the two, he smiled softly towards Katniss and Peeta. Bringing their food to them, he looked the two up and down. "You look tired, Girl on Fire."

Katniss smiled at Cinna slightly, taking her food. She glanced at Gale's screen once before focusing on Cinna again. "Tell that to Gale Hawthorne."

He handed off a plate to Peeta before addressing them both. "Once you've finished eating, maybe you should go to yours rooms to freshen up a little. In the back of your closets are some new clothes that Portia and I prepared for the Game's end that are quite comfortable. Maybe now would be a good time to put them on."

Katniss nodded slightly, staring hard at Cinna for a moment before glancing at Peeta, unsure if he understood the meaning. Peeta, however, didn't. He ate his food without paying too much attention to the conversation but nodded towards Cinna. Katniss frowned a little and turned toward her food as well, but didn't touch it.

Cinna, able to read the clueless natural of Peeta's reactions, never faltered in his soft smile. Turning back, he watched as Chaff, Finnick, and Annie retreated to their own rooms, ignoring the food that had been placed in front of them by Haymitch and as Portia put the trays down before Beetee, Wiress, and Johanna. He turned back to Katniss. "We'd best be going then. See you soon, I'm sure."

Katniss eyed Chaff, Finnick, and Annie before smiling at Cinna, standing up as well, pushing her untouched Capitol food away. "I'm sure."

* * *

><p>Katniss quickly entered her prison celltemporary bedroom and went straight for the closet. She haphazardly pushed her few belongings to the side, searching for the outfit Cinna had left for her. It was obvious that the last outfit, which was wrapped in a black bag with a golden mockingjay printed on the plastic, was the one designated for the situation. It had been stuffed all the way in the back, almost to remain hidden and could easily have been overlooked because of the dark wrappings. Katniss smiled at the mockingjay on the bag slightly before laying it down on the bed and unzipping it hastily.

The outfit was extraordinarily light weight, which she found surprising upon opening. Inside, a black pair of pants with a long sleeve shirt and sleeveless jacket that both zipped up then buttoned over the zipper to cover it laid in the plastic.

The material of the pants and shirt were stretchy and easy to move around in. The jacket, however, seemed a little stiff. It wasn't until Katniss actually felt it that the reason was obvious. Cinna had incorporated leather between the fabric to make it thicker and more resistant to any offense. On the jacket's inside were countless compartments and pockets for storing items. The entire ensemble was held together by red and golden thread and its only accessories included a leather belt and shin high combat books of the same red and gold.

Katniss quickly put on the clothes. After she laced up her boots, she admired the outfit for a few moments, thinking that Cinna had outdone himself this time. Not only was the outfit fashionable and sure to please Plutarch, it was easy to move, jump, and run in. She stood there for a few beats before looking out her door cautiously.

Outside, Johanna was already half contemplating ripping her outfit off as she picked at the long sleeves. Her outfit was slightly different however, her jacket being open in the front and undershirt looking like it was the leather clad one. It was different enough to not raise suspicion that she was matching to Katniss, but dull enough so that Katniss still stood out.

Annie stepped awkwardly from her room as well. The black colors didn't seem to match her shy persona, but made her appear tougher certainly. Finnick walked out of his room next to Annie's and slipped an arm around her shoulders, almost without thought. The black on him made his shoulders look even broader and certainly made him look like a force to be reckoned with.

Katniss smiled slightly at Annie and Finnick and walked out of her room. She looked back over to Gale's screen, but didn't sit down. She just watched the screen, but mostly the room, anxiously. As Katniss eyed the screen, a loud bang echoed from outside the room she stood in. Annie yelped and pushed her hands against her ears while Johanna's head jerked towards the direction of the noise. Everybody arose and all who were still in their rooms emerged to stare towards the door that the thunderous sounds continued from.

Peeta, having geared up in his black outfit, rushed to Katniss's side almost instantly. His outfit was probably the most similar to hers, being the only one that shared the red and gold threading. By now, and gleaming from the outfit, he determined something big was about to happen. Katniss reached down and grasped Peeta's hand immediately when he reached her side, staring at the door anxiously. Just when her curiosity was reaching its peak and she was contemplating going to see what happened, the door was kicked open by a big black boot.

Haymitch stood in the doorway in a black outfit similar to Finnick's, but he had a black headband tied around his forehead and a large gun that was obviously stolen off a Peacekeeper in his hands. "Let's go!"

Immediately, Gloss, the male mentor from District 1, stood up. "What the hell is going-?"

Before he could finish, Chaff jumped behind him and broke a bottle over his head. The mentor fell like a pile of bricks to the ground before Chaff nonchalantly tossed the remnants of the bottle aside before looking up to Haymitch. "Lead the way then, Herminia!"

Haymitch scowled at him, but there was a small smile underneath it. He turned back to the door and glanced left and right before running back out into the hallway.

Katniss glanced back at the unconscious body of Gloss before sprinting after Haymitch, letting go of Peeta's hand. Peeta, as well as the rest of the black clad Mentors, dashed after her into the hallways.

* * *

><p>As Joule led the group, Gale couldn't help but get anxious. Every few seconds, he shifted his head around wildly, as if expecting the Careers to jump at any moment. Willow, bouncing like a rag doll on Amur's shoulder where she still was, kept an eye on the back of the group, even though she wasn't happy about it.<p>

"How are things looking from behind?" Amur asked, looking up to Willow.

Willow shook her head slightly even though he couldn't see. "I don't think I see any... oh, wait. Maybe you guys could run faster?" Willow's voice had quickly gone from almost bored to laced with an edge of panic.

From Willow's view, she could see Savage step out from the trees several meters away, closely followed by his two companions. While they were a decent distance away, the Careers had still definitely spotted the alliance. Gale looked back over his shoulder to see the vicious group chasing them. His heart raced so fast he thought it could burst from his chest at any moment. It wasn't until Joule's voice boomed through to them that he looked towards his friends.

"We're here!" she called. She stopped abruptly in front of what appeared to be nothing, until closely observed. The sky, ground, and surroundings were mirrored in the force field, as were the images of themselves and their pursuers.

Madge stopped abruptly behind Gale and Joule, turning back to look at the Careers racing up behind them. "The end of the Arena... Now what are we supposed to do?"

Willow struggled off of Amur's shoulder and basically climbed down him like he was a tree. She pulled her knife out of her backpack, eyeing the Careers, as if she had been waiting for this. Once Willow was out of the giant's arms, Amur reached into his backpack and pulled out the back of stones, standing by Willow's side and eyeing the older man of the Careers. "We fight."

Pearl, holding a full length sword at her side as well as a dagger in her other, smirked back towards Savage and the man. "Flax, you get those two! I'll take care of the cyclops and blond."

Willow narrowed her eyes, as if seriously doubting Flax could take on both her and Amur. Madge made a small noise, backing up but still wielding the sickle Gale didn't think he could handle while Joule stepped forward a little in front of Madge. She pulled out her discus and her wire from before as Pearl dove towards the two of them, sword swinging.

Savage's eyes immediately found Gale's and he smirked sadistically, a mace in his good hand. Gale held the spear in one hand and Flax's hammer with his other, eyeing Savage down.


	43. Goodbyes

Chapter 43. Goodbyes

The second Pearl took off toward Madge and Joule, Savage's eyes flashed and he ran straight toward Gale, determined to not let the hunter get the best of him this time. As soon as he was close enough, he swung his mace at the District 12 Tribute's head.

Gale jumped back to keep the distance between the two. Just as determined as Savage, he knew he couldn't just let the District 1 Career go this time. Holding the spear up, he leaped forward and aimed the tip for the boy. Savage quickly went to dodge the spear, but was a little too late. Unfortunately, it only sunk into his bad arm, which had no feeling after Willow had destroyed his shoulder. Savage easily ignored the ineffective blow and dove toward Gale again, aiming his mace for the hunter's side this time. Gale tried to jump away from the swing, but the mace managed to slice the side of his shirt to ribbons and scratch his flesh.

Pearl went first for Joule, since the one eyed woman was closest. She brought the sword up first, going to swing for the girl's neck which she immediately moved aside from, a part of her braided pigtail slicing clean off.

Madge, immediately wanting to prove to the alliance that she wasn't useless like she knew they all thought, ducked around Joule while Pearl was occupied with her and swung her sickle at the Career's ribs hard. Pearl let out a scream, but turned in a circle to dislodge the tip. Once she faced the blond, she rose the dagger up and went to stab it into Madge's hand that grasped her weapon.

Madge quickly darted away from Pearl, gripping the sickle so hard that her knuckles were white. She jumped behind her and went to sling her sickle against the older Tribute's neck. But Pearl's movements were almost reminiscent of a snake's as she wove herself out from the line of attack. Her smirk only widened as she spun in a complete circle to slash at Madge's chest.

The blond let out a soft gasp as her shirt was sliced open and blood began to pour from her chest, dripping down her torso. She nearly dropped her sickle at the sight of the scarlet liquid but she just narrowed her eyes slightly, making another weak attack toward Pearl's stomach.

As the Career dodged the sickle with ease, it took Joule grabbing Madge by the waist and pulling the blond back to prevent her from getting a fatal stab. As the sword in the Career's hand shot up, however, Joule didn't have the speed to protect herself. The blade dug into her cheek before dragging her eye patch over her eyebrow.

The white haired tribute fell to the ground with a yelp as her patch fell. Slowly, she turned her head up from the ground, but her face was covered with something other then mud. A dark brownish red power flowed from the now broken glass eye in her eye socket, covering the 19 year old's face and chest.

Madge fell to the ground as Joule pulled her away and she looked at the older girl. She furrowed her eyebrows at the powder all over her body, unsure of what it was, but realized she didn't have enough time to ask as Pearl was still over them. Madge tightened her grip on the sickle and swung it toward the Career's abdomen, hoping that Pearl was too distracted with Joule to notice and that the sickle was sharp enough to slice right through.

* * *

><p>With Gale and Savage, the hunter had accumulated many scratches and bruises, but nothing fatal as of yet. Gripping the hammer, he turned the spiked end out and went for a close range swing towards Savage's outer thigh. Savage, distracted by trying to get a clear hit on Gale, took the hammer directly in the thigh. He let out a howl and stumbled backwards onto his knees.<p>

Letting the hammer go, Gale immediately pointed the spear down toward Savage's throat. The Career fell backwards into the mud, lifting his chin slightly away from the spear. Not letting him get away, Gale jumped forward and stomped his foot onto the Savage's chest. Pressing the majority of his weight down, he brought the spear back and pointed it down towards him.

Savage fell back into the mud, sinking down into the damp earth by the force of Gale's foot, gasping for breath. His mace had fallen a few feet away, but suddenly, he had taken his knife from his pocket with his now free arm and forced it quickly into Gale's previously injured thigh. The hunter screamed out in pain as the blade dug deeply into his flesh. He bit his bottom lip hard, but forced his foot to remain steady. He swiftly brought up the spear, his eyes locking with Savage's for a brief moment before aiming his weapon between the Career's eyes.

Savage just rotated the knife, digging it as deep as possible into Gale's leg, while keeping eye contact with him. The hunter screamed out, unable to keep his focus on his attack before falling sideways and pulling his leg back to get his bloody flesh as far away from the Career as possible. While on the ground, he brought the spear forward towards Savage's good shoulder.

Savage pulled his knife out of Gale's leg and stood up quickly, dodging the hunter's spear. He threw the knife quickly at Gale's back as he lay on his side in the mud before reaching down to pick up his mace but, instead of the knife making purchase with Gale, a soft gasp from behind the hunter told him the unknown attack hit someone else. Gale heard the noise, but knew the instant he looked back, it could be fatal. The hunter, instead, pushed himself up onto his knees before throwing the spear at Savage's back while the Career went for the mace.

The Career spun quickly at the noise, but as soon as he did, the spear went straight through his chest. He gasped, clutching the spear's handle as he stumbled backwards and to the ground, dropping his mace. Gale's mind flashed back to Daisy as the boy fell to the ground. Quickly, the hunter crawled towards Savage. He grasped onto the hammer that was still stuck in the Career's leg, ripping it out. He turned the spiked end out before turning to Savage and driving the weapon through the boy's forehead, making his death as quick as possible.

Savage's body fell instantly to the ground as soon as Gale's hammer hit him, his cannon sounding as soon as his head fell into the mud. His large lifeless body laid on the ground, looking less like the vicious, blood thirsty Career he had been during the Games and more like a defenseless, sleeping boy.

Panting a little, Gale dislodged the hammer from the boy's forehead carefully. Glancing around, he turned just in time to see Amur trap Flax in a headlock. There was a wet, distinguishable noise as Willow ducked between the two large men and cut Flax from his throat down to his naval. Gale turned his head away as Willow's attack hit and his eyes traveled to the source of the gasp from earlier.

Curled up in the mud was Madge's pale body, Savage's knife still sticking out of her stomach. Gale's face turned a pale white at the sight. His eyes widened as he attempted to get up, but the pain in his leg prevented it. Falling back to his hands and knees, the hunter began to drag his body towards the blond, Flax's cannon firing off above them. "M-Madge..."

Madge's eyes flickered open at his voice and she looked at Gale, blood pouring from her chest and now her stomach, pooling around her and soaking into the damp earth. She reached her hand out toward him, sliding it along the mud weakly. Regardless of the pain shooting up his thigh and ignoring all risks of infections, the hunter forced himself on through the wet dirt until he was within reach of her hand. Quickly he grasped onto her hand tightly, using the elbow of his opposite arm to to pull himself closer. His eyes immediately went to her chest and stomach. "Madge... o-oh Madge, no... not you too, please..."

Madge reached up shakily with her free hand, even though it was covered in blood, and touched his cheek gently as soon as he was close enough. "It's... not so bad, G-Gale... doesn't even... hurt anymore..."

"Stop..." Gale muttered to her as he reached his hand up over hers, gripping it. "You're going to be okay! I p-promised you'd get home..."

Madge just closed her eyes for a moment at his words before sliding her hand from his cheek to the back of his neck. She pulled his head down weakly, but when she pressed her lips against his, they were sure and strong. At first, the hunter's eyes widened as tears welled up behind them. But as the realization of the situation sunk in and a sadness that even rivaled the amount he held during Sage's death, he relaxed. Slowly, he let his eyelids fall and he kissed her back as the tears slowly streamed down his cheeks for her.

He could almost taste the life draining from her.

Madge kissed him for a few long moments before her head fell back against the mud, her lips falling away from his. She coughed, blood suddenly dripping from her mouth, and she slowly opened her eyes to look up at him. "I-I'm... sorry... I know you... love her. I just... I had to do that... if only just once."

Gale opened his eyes as he leaned back down, planting another kiss on her forehead. "D-don't worry about it, Madge... I'm sorry t-that I couldn't protect you..."

Madge's eyes fluttered close as his lips touched her forehead and she shook her head gently, her breathing becoming more shallow. "I... I needed to protect you... this time... I l-love you, Gale... and... and you need..." Her words slurred into a mumble and then stopped all together.

"M-Madge?" the hunter faltered before immediately grabbing her by the shoulders. "Madge! No, wake up! Madge!"

Madge's eyes didn't open. Her hand slid from his neck to the ground with a wet thump as she breathed out slowly. A few seconds later, her cannon fired.

"N-no..." Gale's voice began shakily as the tears continued. He was so caught up in the moment that he didn't even hear the second cannon fire off as the final Career fell.

Joule dropped the wire as Pearl fell from her grasp, panting. The powder had fallen into her mouth partially during the attack, causing her to cough violently. She slowly brought her hand up to her shattered eye. Blood was starting to fall from where the shards were stabbing into her, but that was the least of her worries.

Willow, watching Gale and Madge from afar, quickly wiped her eyes on the back of her bloody hand before anyone could see. She slowly looked at Joule when she coughed and her eyebrows furrowed. "What's all over your face, Joule?"

The white haired female slowly pulled her hand away from her face and turned to Willow, the first genuine smile she'd shown spreading across her face. However, it seemed oddly melancholy.

"It's time, Willow, Amur."

Willow eyed her for a moment, confusion written all over her features. Then, suddenly the confusion turned to realization. "Joule, no."

"I can't necessarily throw it into the force field now, can I?" she laughed hollowly with a few coughs inbetween.

Amur looked toward the teenage girl with a frown, but quickly turned into his backpack. Pulling out the ax Gale had packed inside it, he stabbed the blade's end into his own arm with a wince, before digging his fingers into the wound. It began to dirty and bleed profusely, resembling the look Joule's had that they needed to get the medication for. "We need to hurry, Willow."

Willow kept her eyes on Joule and they quickly filled up with tears while she quickly cut her own arm open, digging her fingers deeply in. Despite the fact that she acted so strong, underneath it all, she was still just a small, fifteen year old girl who thought she had found her soul mate, the one woman who was as tough as she was, and now she felt as if her heart was breaking.

Amur pulled out his own tracker before instantly turning towards Gale. He knew the government would begin to act soon and had to waste no time. When he grabbed Gale by the arm, the hunter immediately thought the older man was trying to get him from Madge. His defenses rose abruptly toward him as he clung to Madge, screaming and cursing at the man. His words soon became screams of agony as the fisherman pinned the 18 year old to the ground, slicing open his arm.

Joule turned back to Amur and Gale only briefly before turning back at Willow. "Take care of them and survive. Don't let there be any martyrs after me."

Willow pulled out her tracker and crushed it in her small hand before dropping the remnants onto the ground. She paused a brief moment before stepping forward, leaning up on her toes, and kissing Joule gently on the forehead, the only place she could find without the powder on it, ignoring the tears that had begun to fall down her face. "I... I won't. I promise."

Joule gave Willow one final smile before turning her attention at her reflection in the force field wall. She placed a hand on the younger girl's shoulder for a brief moment before running full force ahead.

Gale managed to push Amur off him just as the fisherman ripped out the device from his arm. Dumbfounded, low on blood, and weak, he only managed to sit up for a moment before the white haired woman's body made contact with the field. He watched in horror as the powder on her body sizzled before creating a massive explosion that sent him, Amur, and Willow back to the ground.

Between flashes of white and a mist of red, the force field ripped open violently like reality had shattered. Through Gale's final seconds of vision, he could make out the black clad figures rushing in and a familiar brown braid trailing behind one of them before the world turned black.

**_To be continued..._**

* * *

><p>AN: Thank you to everybody who's been following this story. Please keep an eye out for the sequel, **Songbird, **which will be available _very soon_.


End file.
